Side Stories II Freya's Smile
by JeanG
Summary: A story inspired by the second OAV. Following Eris' demise, Athena and her Saints take some time to rest and focus on their own personal lives. But a new menace is coming from the Asgardian winter. COMPLETE
1. Prologue

**Side Stories**

**II**

**The Holy Battle of Gods**

**Freya's Smile**

PROLOGUE

_I'm losing my hair. _The Holy Priest of Odin is looking at his reflection. He's never been happy with his looks. As a child he was frail. He still recalls the way his father glanced at him, clearly disappointed with that sickly, weak son. "Leave him alone. You have other qualities, Dolvar" his mother used to tell him, "One day you'll rule over this city. It doesn't matter how much your father despises you now." Yet he couldn't leave it at peace, because his father was the mightiest warrior in Asgard, not just a Priest. Dolvar had always craved his respect. And, even if he could never have changed his sharp, graceless features, he could at least cultivate his physique. Method and application. Dolvar had left his teachers amazed. Now his is the body of a God. But he's losing his hair. Hair that had been white for years. Since the birth of the twins. No one could have guessed that his mother, at forty-five could generate two creatures as flawless as they were. Dolvar remember perfectly the smile on his decrepit father's face. "I had been told that I was going to sire a God... and they... They are Gods, my son. Your siblings are Gods... Don't you find them gorgeous? Freya, the Love, and Frey, the Peace. How could anything befall to our own Asgard, now that they are here?" Dolvar hadn't replied. But that very evening he'd strangled his mother. His father wasn't even worth it. He already had a foot inside the grave. He'd left them two months later. And the twins... The twins, which he'd never dared lay hand upon, had been put under his protection. Freya and Frey, Grown up worshiping their older brother. Especially the boy... Dolvar can read the trust in his eyes every time he speaks to him. He's been, after all, a father to him. The girl gives him some thoughts. Dolvar feels her distant. Anyway the young pair live beneath the mountain and come almost never to the Valhalla Palace. Their powers have not shown properly yet and Dolvar hopes that this status quo will last indefinitely. He is in absolute power at Asgard. He doesn't need two flawless Gods to cloak his people's mind. He doesn't care. Some day they could become an outstanding tool for his power... This is why Dolvar cares for them with all the affection that he can show...

The Valhalla Palace... In truth it's just a fortress holed among the mountains. Still he likes to think about it as a veritable reproduction of Odin's kingdom. Probably this is also what the rubes dwelling in their twin city think, the place his people scornfully call "Asgard-By-The-Sea". Years before a war had taken place, to determine which city could boast the name Asgard. It ended without winners or losers. But two statues of Odin had been placed on the main square of both towns to represent their new alliance. _Things are about to change... _Dolvar has been thinking for a long time. The Priestess of Asgard-By-The-Sea, the luscious daughter of fishermen, Polaris Hilda, has just been soundly beaten by Athens. In this recent war Dolvar didn't assist her. He kept aside, watching. Now Asgard-By-The-Sea is weak, without its protectors. And Dolvar's brain has started pondering. At first he thought of asking Hilda's hand. Then he changed his mind. She's a Queen. He needs another kind of alliance. An alliance to carry him into the future, when there will be just one Asgard. And a single, vast reign of Odin. The Queen has a sister. A juicy teen he saw at the last official banquet. She's called Freya. Like the Goddess of Love. Like his own beloved sister. But she's just a woman. _Should I marry her, Asgard-By-The-Sea would become mine... To get rid of the pesky sister-in-law would be a joke... _And Princess Freya is also a beauty. And to make children with her could prove an enjoyable leisure time. _Loki will take care of it... _thinks Dolvar. Loki, his right-hand man, one of his best warriors. _We'll celebrate the wedding as soon as the young girl enters these halls... Hilda won't dare interfere. How could she, anyway? She'll be forced to place herself under my protection... Nobody can defend her anymore... Nobody..._


	2. The Season of Love I

**Part One**

**The Season of Love**

1

"_I don't know where did you get my e-mail address. I find it somewhat annoying. This is the first and last time I reply to one of your messages, and I'm doing it just out of formality. I don't want to talk with you, I don't want to see you. I don't want to ever hear you name again. Draw your conclusions and stop engulfing my server. Don't force me to install an e-mail filter. It would be quite a nuisance._

_Julian Solo"_

Saori's fingers are shaking over the keyboard. She doesn't know if it's rage or anxiety. She's furious. Emotionally vulnerable. _It was he who tried to kill me, after all. I was going to drawn. He's' got no right to be angry. _I_ should be angry._

"_I guess we won't have lunch together anymore._

_Saori"_

No surname. Just Saori. She hesitates, then clicks on SEND. _Filter your mail if you wish to, but I won't give up._

He left in a huff after the demise of Eris, as if the devil had been on his trail. After lying to the police... "I know nothing about my kidnappers. They didn't talk and kept their faces hidden." She had done similarly. Their story had been similar, even though they didn't plot it together. _KIDO-SOLO KIDNAP FOILED, AUTHORS STILL AT LARGE. _A colossal lie. To speak with the journalists about the Galaxian Wars, the Cosmo, the Cloths, has been simpler... And even that had been an indiscretion she wouldn't repeat now. In the same page, lower, an earthquake wave is covered. _But we Japanese are accustomed to it, aren't we?_ She enjoys deeply reading headlines harping on her vicissitudes. _Come on, answer... _Saori thinks, watching the screen. _I just don't have the all day..._

"Excuse me, my lady..."  
Saori raises her head to watch Tatsumi. His face is tired. Perhaps she should give him a holiday.

"I've found the footage you asked me. I've arranged it in the blue living-room."  
"Thank you. You've been kind" she replies, switching the pc off. _Maybe tonight I'll get an answer... _"Has Flora already come down?"

"Not yet" the man replies with a characteristic scowl of disapproval. _She's keeping us waiting, _Saori thinks leaving the study. _She likes to keep me on the edge. Still, she knows that she won't be able to avoid talking with me today... _Exactly a month after the fall of Eris their exchanges haven't moved beyond a few polite greetings. Sparse words, aimed at gauging the persistent tension between them. Flora is a discrete guest. She has her meals in her own room. In the evening she rambles through Tokyo and returns around dawn. Very likely she's still trying to make out which direction will her life take. Non an easy choice. _It doesn't matter. You can do as you please. Today we'll talk about me..._

2

For ten minutes Seiya's been mixing his coffee. He measured the time. Ikki is enjoying the show wondering why he, who could, wouldn't avoid the morning meetings at Kido Mansion. Seiya's sulky expression brightens a lot the breakfast that every day Saori Kido forces upon her Saints. This one will be one of the last times they will have their meal in the open before winter comes. He's itching to leave. To be by himself for a while, in the oppressive warmth of Death Queen Island, where it's never cold. And yet something keeps him at Kido Mansion. For once in his life, Ikki is curious. _I want to see the end of it..._

The battle between Saori and Flora is becoming interesting. A battle made of sideward glances and silence. Saori doesn't question and Flora keeps her waiting. She's proving that she's' very good at this game. He asks himself who will give up first. Which one will address the other with more than three words. Saori has scored first, obtaining what she wanted. Flora is at Kido mansion, always at her disposal...

"Seiya, you're making your cup sea-sick. Can't you hear it scream for mercy?" Hyoga grabs Seiya by the shoulders. He's got a wide smile on his face, uncharacteristically. Such a pleased expression that Ikki suspects that he's been replaced by a clone in his sleep. His comrades all behave oddly of late, but still he was certain that the season of love was the springtime. "Listen, Seiya, keep yourself free tonight. We'll take over the city, just wait and see. Ellie is not coming out unless Miho is also of the party. She's barely starting to recover; it's the first time she ventures out of her home in a month. Miho is dating you so we can go around in four. Then, of course, you and your darling will go your own way. Eight o'clock, ok? Do it for me and I'll owe you for life. Really. So, eight o'clock at the school. Try not to be late. I'll pay for everything. Restaurant, cinema and fun-fair. Thank you. Really, thank you. Goodbye, Seiya. I knew you wouldn't fail me. You're a friend." With another satisfied sigh Hyoga flees the scene as quickly as he came. _Right. That can't be Hyoga. It's his idiot twin._

Seiya keeps on mixing his now cold coffee. "Have I missed something?"

"Yeah, Hyoga has planned your evening. You've got a date, it seems..."

Finally Seiya abandons the spoon. _If that chunk of metal had a soul, it would breath in relief... _"Damn! If he wants to go out with another couple why can't he bring along Shun and his oddball blonde?"

Ikki is watching him worriedly. "What's wrong?"

Seiya raises his eyes, pressing his lips together, as if taking a decision. "I can't stand it anymore!" he finally blurts out. His eyes are sparkling menacingly, as if before a particularly bloody battle. "She's in my head from dawn till dusk. Here... Right now I was wondering... Does she like coffee?... And I also dream of her at night, damn her!"

_More and more worrisome... _"Are you talking about Miho?"

Seiya watches him as if he's speaking Arab. His expression is so puzzled that Ikki realizes that his comment was completely off the mark. "What's Miho got to do with it?"

"Well, isn't she your girlfriend? Or were you talking about Saori?"

"Say, are you already drunk?_ Our Goddess!_"

_Of course, _thinks Ikki. _That saucy piece of meat upon which you lay eyes anytime you can. Don't tell me you don't like her, Seiya... _"So?" he questions. Seiya has scores of girls by his side. It's hard for him to think that someone can lower him thus. But... _How couldn't I see it? The game has changed completely. Until yesterday _she _was dying for you... _"Let's see... She's a nasty-looking girl..."  
Seiya lowers his gaze. Suddenly he looks like a confused child. "I don't know. It's all so sudden... It's an obsession. Can't you see? I don't know what's happening to me...When I kissed her my heart came to my tonsils..."

Ikki smirks. _How exaggerated... I kissed dozen of women and I've never experienced something like that... You're always grandstanding, and I think I know why... I understand, even though I don't think I ever felt something like that... You're in love, Seiya... It must feel... Most likely it's got nothing to do with what I felt for Esmeralda... That was... What?... tenderness... affection..._

"Stop it!" Seiya throws down his coffee as if that drink was sole guilty of his situation. "I've made a decision. It's not worth it. I can't let _that girl _do this to me. All women are alike. They're all soft to the touch. Tonight I'll jump the fence, see if I don't!"

_Jump the fence...? _Ikki watches him in confusion. _What was in that coffee?_

Seiya gets up, imperious and threatening. "I won't reach seventeen before lying with a woman! Not me! Tonight I'm jumping the fence!"

"Best wishes..." says Ikki drinking some more coffee. _Women are used and dumped... Now you got it, little fool..._

3

Recently she stopped asking herself what's she doing here. The first days have been curious. She also stopped wondering where she will be tomorrow. She doesn't care anymore. Her life is her own. She's decided to stay and watch, like an entomologist studying a hive. She will give Saori Kido what she wants. She's in charge, after all. Of course it will be painful to the young lady and this elicits in her a not-too-unconscious satisfaction. _So much for your grandeur... _In the big house, theirs is a strange life. Between those walls one can forget to be in Tokyo. Saints come and go all the time. They're Kidos, too. Each one of them has a room, except for Seiya. The Goddess' most beloved is the more independent, as well. From what she's heard, young Pegasus lives in an attic at the docks. A wise choice. But he's also always there, fawning at Athena, like a lapdog. _They seem to be in love, pathetically, nauseatingly, foolishly in love... _June is no habitué. Probably she feels like a fish out of the water, almost like herself. It would seem that soon she'll be leaving for Ethiopia. Another wise decision. Or so she says, very assuredly. But she doesn't care. June still looks at her seething. It's still about the Cassiopeia Cloth. Chameleon still believes that it's rightfully hers. Chances are high that sooner or later they will have to fight over that bothering detail. Athena's cohorts have stopped trying to socialize with her. After the initial, moving approaches, now they limit themselves to greet her. For her part, Athena doesn't give up, with her firm but affectionate manners. And she's also disturbingly doting. "Flora, whatever you may need..." And this morning she sent for her. Apparently it's Her Highness' audience day. She complied. _Let's cut it short... _And as Athena enters, the living room is filled with smoke, as thick as foam. _You told me to put myself at ease, right?_

Athena's fine little nose sneers, then she brings her white-laced hand to her mouth, coughing ostentatiously. _Why does she wear gloves at home...? And look at that dress. A relic... Long bell gown, puffy sleeves... Sweet Satan...Not even a Victorian damsel would arrange herself that way..._

"Flora, I don't approve of smoking cigarettes inside the house..."

Flora blows at her a cloud of white smoke. _Surprise... _"This is not a cigarette, deary. It's a reefer. RE-E-FER." _And it's easier for a camel to pass through the eye on a needle than for any kind of drug to reach Japan. I've been crafty, don't you think?_

Saori's eyes grow even wider. Flora can guess what she's thinking._ Dishonour, shame, prison, scandal... _She grins. _First fall for me. _As a rule she doesn't smoke. Radamanthys had insisted for years. She tried to do it, but couldn't enjoyed it. The burned herbs before the rituals, back then in Moscow. And her siblings swallowed entheogen thingies as if they'd been candies. The dope she's smoking is the last few she has. They had planned to burn it after Athena's death as a propitiatory ritual. Instead, she resolved to flaunt it for the pleasure of Saori Kido.

"Want a puff?"

The Goddess is quick to open the French window of the balcony. If she's irked she's hiding it splendidly.

"Isn't there an ashtray in this place?"

Athena's glance silences her. It's the glance of someone unaccustomed to be ruled upon from anyone. Flora kills her reefer under the heel of her shoe and places the remains in the pocket of her denims. _Shoes and hemp in a honourable Japanese house... _"Ok, I'll finish it later..."

"It does you no good, you know?"

"Yes, mummy..."

Grabbing two remote controls Saori settles on the armchair. _The Queen is on her throne..._ The television switches on without the faintest of buzzes. _Top-notch technology, excellent definition... This lady values her comfort highly..._

As the images appear all thoughts vanish from Flora's mind. _I remember... I remember that day perfectly... _The Nutcracker fills the smoky air. The two keep quiet for at least four minutes. Four minutes which seem to her as long as a lifetime. Then Saori stops the tape and starts to look at her like a judge would gaze upon a gamine under court. Flora would gladly be sunk inside the couch. Also becoming invisible would do.

"Florjana Petrovna. No surname. Only two years ago you won World Juniors Championship of Artistic Ice Skating. In the free program you made a perfect score. Why did you quit?"

"It's not Artistic Skating, blast it. It's Ice Dance!"

Saori looks mystified. _So, Athena, you're not omniscient... _"Is there a difference?"

"An enormous difference, dearie... The steps changes, the rules change, everything changes. Only a blind would not notice. Artistic skaters are acrobats. She's little more than a meter and a half, he's a behemoth. They twist, jump and cavort as if bit by tarantulas. We are dancers. The sum of gracefulness and harmony, remarkable also aesthetically. If you have to generalize, call it Figure Skating..."

Saori smirks. _There's nothing funny, little doll... _"Forgive me. Really, forgive me. I'm not an expert. I saw a few contests on the TV but honestly I couldn't make much out of it however, except that it's a remarkable showing. But I thought that you and your... colleague were good. Really good."

_We were good... we were the best... Madame Zuskaja always said so... _For a long time she hasn't thought about her trainer. The kindly lady who took her under her wing when she was seven, foreseeing for her a luminous future.And who, when she was twelve, made her switch from the female Singular to the Dance. "You move like a nymph, Flora. You could become the number one in this discipline, with the right partner..." Dimitri, her partner in crime... A relationship built upon complete trust. Now he's changed category and has a new partner. But she hasn't followed skating in a long time.

"Why did you quit?" Saori asks again. She seems very curious about it.

"I had more pressing matters." _Like cleaning the world from your presence..._

"You could pick it up again, though... Do you know that the next World Championship will take place here in Japan? I could have you naturalized and..."

Flora burst into laughter. _It cannot be! Goddess Athena is a moron!_

"Did I say something wrong?" Saori asks, obviously mortified.

"Wake up, princess! The contests start in February. It's November and I'm out of shape, have no partner, no trainer, no dance number!"

"But would you like..."

_Why are you insisting? _Dope, and that kid's foolish prattle... _Of course I'd like to... It's the best thing I ever had... _"Do we have to talk about this?"

Saori sighs. "As you wish..." She keeps silent for a minute, as if mustering the strength to talk. "Who were my parents?"

"Shut up..."

"Don't tell me shut up. No one tells me to shut up."

Flora lowers her gaze. All of a sudden she wishes that there could be a way to soften the thing, but there is not. _The sooner, the better. She's old enough to bare it anyway. _"Your mother's name was Despina. She was Greek. What little I remember about her... She had blond hair and blue eyes... Incredibly blue... She was beautiful, very beautiful, kind, sweet... like..." _Oh, no. I was about to say 'like you are'..._

"Like...?" asks Saori, enraptured, a strange emotion on her features.

"Saori, that's enough..."

"No, it's not enough! Tell about my father." It's not an order. Athena is begging her.

_Alright... But it will hurt... _The question, the main question, is how to start. _Perhaps if we start from me and my family... _"We had a house. A big house in the heart of the capital. I don't know how our cult could get to have it. But after all many powerful people is ready to make concessions in return for impossible dreams. It was a noble house, requisitioned during the Revolution. I lived there with my father and siblings..." _How should I proceed? It won't be nice, Saori... _"We were grown as adorers of Satan, Lucifer... or Hades, as you like to have it. We were waiting for his return, which was bound to be in this century." Flora looks at her askance. "You know that it's going to be this century, right?"

Saori nods. "Go on."

"Our cult had hundreds of adepts. The Demons of Hades, the humans ready to be empowered in the day of his rebirth, always came to visit. I think that we were the only ones to celebrate Christmas on 25 December. Of course ours was a rite that turned the Catholic proceedings upside down, but I don't think it matters now... People came and went all the time, but just us lived in the house. With Andres Misoteos, the Greek, the Celebrant, my father..."  
"That's a fictitious name. Don't you know who he really was?"

"No, and I don't care. He was my father, that's all." _He held me on his knees and sang for me... I couldn't ever look him in the eye again, after Sergej's death..._

"And your mother?" Saori carries on.

"Never knew her. I know her patronymic and use it as a surname. That's all. We have all being conceived during Sabbath, me and my siblings... Can you figure it? A bunch of people tirelessly copulating in the name of Satan... My father presided over the birth of all the children born among the adepts. And he took with him all those he recognized as his. So it has been for me, for Sergej and for our siblings... Andres used to say that Hades took control of his body at the Sabbath and that so we were also the offspring of the Prince of Darkness..."

"He was mad" Saori whispers.

"Maybe. But he was a good father. He loved us. I know you won't believe me but it's true..." she says firmly, despite that shadow on her memories. _He left Sergej die, he left Vassilj die... were he still alive he would now likely be signing my death sentence... But I shouldn't talk about me. We are here for you, right? _"Despina was part of the cult. She was gorgeous. And she believed... believed strongly that Hades would have blessed her with a child. But when she was two months into her pregnancy, Andres realized that she was going to give birth to the most recent incarnation of Goddess Athena..." Flora stops talking. She feels that she's recounting something fake, archetypical and distant. After all she only heard the story from her father. "The Demons had left a Cloth to our care. A Cloth they stolen from Andromeda Island. My eldest brother wore it... Vassilj. My father ordered him to kill you at birth. I was very young...I can't recall it well... My father promised Vassilj that after killing you he would have been declared an adult, with the right to join the Sabbath..."

"Excuse me..." Saori goes to get herself something to drink.

"You shouldn't drink so young. And in the morning."  
The Goddess doesn't reply and returns to her sit.

"Do you want me to stop?"

Saori gestures a no. "I survived. What went wrong?"

"During the ritual organized for your birth Vassilj lost his head. Someone said that he was in love with Despina, even though he never had her, but in fact we all knew what happened. He cradled you as soon as you were born, crying that he would never kill you, then he fled with extraordinary speed... None of us had ever tested the capabilities of the Cloth before... I don't know how, but he came to Athens Sanctuary and brought you to the Priest... but he refused protection from Athena's Celebrant. He was just out of the sacred enclosure when the three Hell Giants tore him into pieces. He was only fifteen... Then the Cloth passed to Sergej. I guess you know the rest of your life story better than me..."

Saori is shaking. She hasn't drunk a sip. The glass she's holding trembled visibly. "What happened to Despina?"

Flora lifts her shoulders. "She died. Died giving you birth." She realizes that Saori is holding her breath. She's even rousing some compassion in her. "I'm sorry. But you wanted to know."

Saori regains her voice. "So... My father is not know...One of many... I stem from a satanic orgy..."

_By Asmodeus, what should I do if she starts to cry? I won't tell more... You know what would happen if I were to tell everything. _But she can't hold it back, even if she's not sure of how much relief her words will bring. "Saori... Andres knew his children from their eyes... They all had black eyes... So... you can see it yourself... You would had been the last of us hadn't Athena taken your body..." _Here. That's all... I could tell you that Andres died of liver cancer... That my brothers and sister went their separate ways, but I don't think it matters to you..._

Saori is gazing at her with intent. _Gosh... I knew... A tear... Stop it, kid! It's not worth it... _"So you and me..."

"No!" Flora interrupts. _Damn, I knew it was going to happen. _"You and me are nothing, Saori, get this straight. In my life I only ever had one brother. The others didn't interest me. The same goes for you. Now if you will excuse me..." Flora leaves the couch. _I hurt her. But it's better for her to immediately drop whatever strange idea she could conceive._

"Are you leaving now?" Saori asks.

"I think I will..." she replies.

"Why don't you stay with us for a while?"

"Because nothing holds me here... Saori, you should change your look" she says before going outside. _That is all._

4

_For how long could I watch this tumbler before going crazy? _She had expected to be overwhelmed by feelings, but nothing happened. Her head spins a bit, that's all. Incongruously, she's able to ponder the all matter with absolute clearness. As if she wasn't involved. And, at the heart of the matter it's so. It doesn't concretely matter in which part of the world or from whom she was born. Her mother has no face, the same goes for father. _My grandfather was real... He was my family... even though we weren't blood related. Flora is real... blood-ties... Do I something about blood-ties? She must not leave... Ikki... What's taking you so long? _Her intuition is almost never wrong. This is why she sent for him. Somehow he's the only tool at her disposal.

When he enters, as furtive as a cat, Saori appraises his all figure. He never lowers his guard and he never loses his skittishness.

"I need a favour, Ikki..."

He barely seems to listen, but Saori goes on. "It's about Flora. I want you to talk her into staying..." A hint of reaction. His eyes narrow. "Take her out. Talk to her. I don't care how you do it, just make her stay. You're the only one she's shown a whiff of interest in..."

"Sure. She's sworn to kill me..."

Saori glances at him. _You're a thorn in my side, always were. _"I don't think to be asking much. An evening with a very pretty girl..."

He crosses his arms. "Can't do."

"Did I ask something so extravagant?"

Ikki lowers his gaze. "I don't want anything to do with that woman. She makes me uneasy."

Saori grins. "I didn't think that someone could make you uneasy."  
"But it's true. She makes me feel strange, ok?"

_Strange. That's a bit vague._ Saori is not a fool. _Ok. I think I know. This plays into my plans. _"Indulge me, Ikki, and I promise that I'll leave you alone for the rest of your life. No more pressure on you to join holidays and birthdays. No more surprise parties sent by the Foundation on Death Queen Island to cheek how are you doing. Nothing. You'll be free."

She almost hears the wheels and grinds of Ikki's brain values pros and cons. "You scheming wench!" he says with a naughty grin. "What makes you think that you can buy me so Saori-sama?"

_Unbelievable. He can insult me and call me Saori-sama in a single phrase. _Saori smiles and distinctly pronounces: "SU-ZU-KI IN-TRU-DER. Any colour you like..." The only things Ikki really likes at Kido Mansion are the motorbikes. Grandpa Mitsumasa's beloved collection. His father. _Come on, tell me that you're in. To think that with the others I would just have to command..._

He closes his eyes for but a moment. Then he sighs. "Deal."

Saori relaxes. "Perfect. I'll take care of everything. I think I know how to take her. Do you know that she was a promising skater? Ask her out for tomorrow evening... And don't tell her that I asked you to do it."  
He gazes at her suspiciously. "Why do you care so much?"

_Indeed. Why? _She can give him part of the truth. "Hades... My next enemy. She knows a lot of things about him... Ikki... Don't tell the others about Hades..."

"Why?"

_Because it will be my war. Only mine. _"It makes no sense to alert them so early." She knows that he didn't buy it but it doesn't matter.

"Do you plan to drink that Martini or do you want to start a new fashion?"  
Just then Saori remembers about the glass she's holding. "Has Shiryu come down?" she asks.

"I didn't see him" Ikki replies.

_As I was thinking... _"Ikki, do you think I dress badly?" Wondrous how certainties can be torn into pieces in a few seconds.

"I don't know. I'm not an expert. Ask Shun."

_Diplomatic and false-fainted. _"You may go now" she finally lets him go. _Now I must take care of Shiryu._

5

Light. Fear of opening your eyes. Because there could be no light. _Maybe the roof has vanished. Maybe everything will be pitch black. _Shiryu opens his eyelids. They seem to weight like lead. A moment of dizziness. Then the sunlight in the room, the walls, everything. _I wish I wasn't so scared every time... I don't want to fall in the darkness again. Zeus, don't take the Sun away from me... No..._

There's a knocking, but he doesn't answer. _Go away.... _Athena enters anyway. _Of course... Is her home after all..._

"You didn't answer" she says.

Perhaps he should apologise. But with Saori it doesn't matter. Saori knows. The Goddess sits by the side of his bed. "How are your eyes?"

_Look at you... As long as I can look at you everything is fine... _"Today everything is well. I must thank you for not telling the others." He couldn't hide it from her. Her, who can read inside him. Shiryu observes her profile, etched in ivory by a skilled sculptor. _You're like a lighthouse in my existence... How long will I be able to follow your light?_

"Shiryu, I think you should go back to Goro-Ho..."

The condemnation has come. Athena thinks him worthless. Athena is giving him no hope. "Are you throwing me away, Saori Kido?"

There's true surprise on her face. "Shiryu... No. How could you say that? I know your merit... You fought even blind, without ever asking anybody's help. I meant that perhaps, with a little bit of rest..."

He runs a hand over his face. _Rest... Rest has never helped. I won't see you again... I won't see Shunrei again... That's it. _"I'm sorry, but you won't persuade me to go. When Eris attacked I was too far away. This must not happen again."  
Saori is still. The morning light gives to her face a strange serenity. _You're worrying for me, for us. What's happening inside you, my lady? _"And what about you, Saori-sama?"

She lowers her gaze. She's surprised, as if caught red-handed. "Why are you asking me?"

"Did Julian Solo call?"

Saori's guilt is almost tangible. Shiryu is certain that she will remain so until that brazen Sea God will let her back into his good graces. Why Saori is so persistent in her trying is beyond Shiryu's comprehension. Probably she thinks better to have Poseidon as an ally.

"He wrote" Saori says.

"That's good, isn't it?"

"Yes." Saori stand up. "Shiryu, I'll send for the best specialists... I won't leave anything untried."  
He wants to tell her that it's useless. That this time nothing will save his eyes. But Athena is gone, quiet and brooding. And' he's alone again, although part of his angst has disappeared along with his Goddess.

6

_Knock and enter, don't make it so long... _

All considered, it's been less troublesome than he'd expected. _The most important thing is to avoid to watch her in the eyes. _His gaze falls on the bag on the bed. _So you're leaving..._

She's sitting on the ground, knees to her chest, and glances at him in a far from friendly manner. "I don't think I've said Come in."  
_Don't make a scene... _"What are you exactly doing?"  
She closes her eyes. "I'm giving my soul time to re-enter my body before leaving" she says seriously. "But you spoiled it all."  
Ikki gapes at her. She doesn't seem to be joking. It must be some extravagant Russian custom. "You mean you're not leaving?" She stands. _You're beautiful... _Too late. Ikki realizes that he's been heard. He understands it from the way she's looking at him. As if she want to tear him into pieces with a gaze. An odd side effect of the Genma-ken he used on her. Should he lowers his guard Flora would be able to read him like an open book. And he can do the same. This is why they keep a safe distance from each other.

"_Zhulik!_" she growls and Ikki is certain that it wasn't a laudatory comment. He takes it in without replying but remains vigilant.

_How could she have reacted if, instead of finding her beautiful, you'd thought her some sort of harpy?_ His quick eye didn't fail him even this time. He knew that, freed from the rags she was covered with the day he met her, she would have proven noteworthy. A charming modern girl, jeans and white shirt, glossy well-combed hair, barely perceptible make up... "You can't leave in such a rush. You've not yet seen all the fine spots of Japan. You haven't even seen Amanohashidate."  
"What's so special about Amanohashidate?"

_Fabulous... That Russian accent of hers is fabulous. When she's speaking Greek it's not easy to notice it... Say it again... Amanohashidate... Say it again... _"And you didn't even take the Shinkansen..." Ikki insists. _Come on, repeat with me... Shinkansen..._

"The Shinkansen is costlier than an airplane, which also travels faster."

_Yes. The accent... There's something glorious in the way she mangles the Japanese language... But now I must return to my duties... _He's sure that there's a way to persuade her out without being hurt too much. "Would you like to come around tomorrow evening?" Easy and painless. Although she's looking puzzled.

"Are you asking me out?"

His mind is on the defensive, akin to a hedgehog. Better to let her think it's his idea. She wouldn't take it kindly were she to know that...

"Ok, what did Saori offer you in return?"

_Gotcha. _Ikki realizes that she's too smart. She understood. She understood it all immediately. Better to play it openly. "Well, for one thing she promised to leave me alone. She won't ever pursue me with her pointless requests for me to go socialize..." _What a sly, slightly malicious smile. This girl is a witch... She could melt me with a simple look. She'd better go, disappear. But I have a deal with Saori..._

"Are you so eager to get rid of Athena?"

"It's not true. I worship Athena. But I can't stand Saori. Know what I mean? I'm on my island, minding my own business, when I see one of her double-breasted wonders...?"

Another sideward glance. "You shouldn't mind your own business too much. You could become blind."  
_Viper, viper, viper... Not even a Suzuki Intruder will make me bring this one out..._

"All right. But I'm doing you a favour. And I want something in return."

It takes a moment for him to discern that she said yes. "What?" he asks. He's far too nervous and doesn't know why. They're on the same wave length, yet something in her eludes him. Perhaps because she never lets down her vigilance and never shows herself for who she is. _Like me... just like me... _

"That Genma-Ken of yours... did something to my mind. It was a loathsome, nauseating, horrible mental rape..."

He never saw it from this point of view. Generally his enemies don't survive the Fist of the Evil Illusion. He had strived to be kind with her. He wanted to peek inside her subconscious. To save her. The other option was killing her. Or to be killed by her. Ikki can't discard this possibility. She had her chance and spared him. "If you want me to apologize, forget it."

"I don't want you apologies. I want your soul." She's not acting now. She's looking square into his face. Ikki is tempted to reply _Already yours. _"I want to look inside you. Your secrets, your nightmares... Like you did to me..."

_Are you so anxious to turn my own mud over, girl? _In an instant he seems to live his all life once again. _Do you want to see my mother die and my father treat me like a sacrificial lamb? Do you want to see my sensei killing his daughter, my own true love? Do you want to see my victims in their last throws cursing me? You're welcome... But won't allow you to survive afterwards..._

_I know, but at least we'll be even..._

He let her guide him in front of the full figure mirror, one of many filling the room. Some were already there, most she created out of nothing.

"Showtime..." she whispers in his ear. Then the surface darkens and their reflection disappear.

7

_At which episode had they arrived, now?_ He can't follow the story. Good Jedi versus bad Jedi... Laser swords and starships. Hyoga is a fool, two hours into the movie he couldn't even place an arm around her shoulders. _Can't he see how displeased Ellie looks? _Especially as he and Miho are going at it famously. He started to caress her neck as soon as Amidala appeared on the screen. The first time Obi Wan Kenobi extracted his sword he already had his tongue running inside her ear... Now, while the good guys are kicking the Empire's butt, none of them is paying attention._ Your loss, Shaina... _he thinks, kissing Miho all along. She pushes him away when he attempts to reach inside her blue jumper. _Ok, later..._

"Seiya, do you think you could fetch me something to drink?"

He regains his composure. The air has become hot. _It will be an easy picking. _"Are you having fun, guys?" he asks, passing in front of Ellie and Hyoga.

"No!" she snarls.

"How so? Aren't you enjoying?" Hyoga asks, sheepishly.

_Sod!_ Seiya smirks.

_Miho looks really good tonight..._ he thinks, throwing some water on his sweaty face. Indian-like braids and ethnic make up._ Well, the make up has vanished... Yeah... It's alright... She's sweet... she's nice, and she loves me... It doesn't matter that I... _The mirror throws back at him his own dishevelled image. Seiya rearranges his hair. _...that I wish that here with me could be her now? ... Damn you! Everything you said, everything you did for me.. have you changed your mind? How could you change your mind? Liar... you're a liar... I hate you, Shaina... hate you... _It hurts him even to think of it. He was always the abject of contention. Switching roles finds him unprepared.

As he returns inside the all with two orangeades, he notices that Ellie has taken the initiative laying her head on Hyoga's shoulder. The girl appears to be well now, although Miho told him that she has still nightmares. _Who knows how it feels... To be possessed by evil, to stay aware and powerless to resist... Better focus on the laser swords..._

"Will you come to my place?" he asks Miho as the end titles start.

She looks puzzled. "Why?"

_Yes, why... Because I want to have sex and you're the only woman I have near... _"Well... We've been going out together for a long time. Don't you think is time to bring our story to another level?"

"I think I'm not ready" she replies, hurrying out of the hall.

Things seem to have slightly smoothened between Ellie and Hyoga. They're waiting at the entrance, smiling placidly.

"Funfair?" proposes Hyoga.

"No. We're leaving" Miho says taking his hand. Her tension is not lost on Seiya. _It doesn't matter. I bet that later she'll relax._

8

_I don't think he likes me enough...._

The view from the panoramic wheel is fabulous. If she gets tired enough perhaps that night she'll be able to sleep soundly. Since then in her dreams always echoes that laughter... her own distorted voice. The need to scream. A wild fear of remaining always captive of that malignant entity. But Eris now is gone and she's herself again. Even if the nightmares aren't leaving. _I can't even see an apple anymore without feeling sick._

"Did you enjoy the film?" Hyoga asks. Hyoga... the Charming prince of her dreams... The spear in her hands... The dark energy and the blade piercing through him... She has already apologized. She apologized dozens of times... he told her not to mind, that it wasn't her fault. _Easy. I knew what was going on as she used my body to strike at you..._

"Yes, it was nice, but I prefer the classic trilogy" she replies. Those dazzling icy eyes... "Why don't you kiss me, Hyoga?" _This is clear... I know why... There's somebody that you like better, right?_

He accepts her invitation. _Sweet, nice, tender... You kiss well... Now it's better... You're my boyfriend now..._

9

_If only she would stop shaking this way... _He would like to tell her to relax, but he's sure that should he lose his concentration the arduous fight he's battling to unbutton her shirt would see him the loser. They didn't even switch on the light. In theory there hasn't been time. In reality Seiya prefers some shadows. So he can't distinguish Miho's features. _I know it's Miho, but this way I can pretend it's somebody else... _He would never have believed it so important. Just do it, he told himself. No matter with whom. His body reacts to the heating situation. Yet his head is going elsewhere. _If only she didn't have so many layers of clothes on... What if she cuts loose while I take those rubber things? Clearly she's here against her best judgement... She's doing it for me... Speaking of which, where did I put them?_

"Seiya!"

_Perfect. This terrorized voice just makes it... _"What's up?" He's dropping sweat, so he wishes to keep all chat at the minimum.

Miho's large eyes seem desperate in the penumbra. "Do you love me?"

_No. The wrong thing to say... _"Yes, of course."  
A hopeful smile. "Really? I too... well... I... I... love you, Seiya..."

_Did you really have to say that? And with such seriousness? _His sweat freezes on him. _What the hell am I doing? Miho... What will I tell her tomorrow? _As he draws away from her his excitement vanishes.

"What's wrong?" she asks him holding together the edges of her blouse like a girl border.

_Don't tell her... Don't tell her that she's not the one you want... You would just hurt her... Find an excuse... Any excuse... _But his mind is empty... And he feels awful. "Miho... Forgive me. It's not tight. You must not do it just for my sake..." He's not looking at her directly but he knows that she's watching him. _After all it's true... It's better for her... I'm feeling a creep. This is Miho, not anyone... I can't do such a horrible thing to her... She would become mine and I... I don't want her..._

Miho slowly starts to buttonherself up again.

"Are you mad at me?"  
She shakes her head. "You should be the angry one. I'm such a kid."  
_Miho, I like you, I didn't lie... But I won't touch you ever again, I swear it... I don't want to soil you... I'm a disgusting hypocrite! _"No. You're more mature than me."

Soon she's dressed up again. Only her hair are somewhat ruffled. "I think... I'd better go now..."  
"I'm coming with you." _I'm almost a heartless seducer, true, but this doesn't mean that I'll let you walk alone at night..._

"Don't. It's such a small walk."

_Right. Nothing will happen. I don't want to walk. I want to go in bed and mop for a while... _He follows her to the door and hold his breath when she hug's him.

"You've been very sweet, Seiya. You've given up because you realized that I was forcing myself. Now I believe that I'm important for you... That you love me. It's been wonderful from you and I promise you that when the time will come you'll be the only one... And that I won't keep you waiting for long."

_Shaina... _"Goodnight, Miho." _You didn't get it, Miho. It ends here. I can't pretend to be your boyfriend anymore..._

She kisses him on the lips. "Goodnight, Seiya. And thanks."

As she walks along the street he follows her from the window. _I wish I could love you. Everything would be simpler._

10

_How could it happen? I hadn't planned it... I didn't think I could go so far..._

She said: "Will you escort me?" and then "Come inside... But be quiet. Should you wake the priest up I'd be in trouble..."

And he immediately realized where they were going and was taken by emotion. "I don't have anything to..."  
She smiled. "There's an automatic machine in that corner. The priest went into a rage when it was installed there. He said that it was morally reproachable so near to a school..."  
He had laughed, relaxed at last.

"Be quick" she said.

Her room. Teddy bears, movie posters, embroidered curtains. "This way... That's Miho's bed." A pink quilt, she in attendance, he drawing near, with racing heart. _Ellie... You're so sweet, Ellie... _"Have you ever done it?" she asked.

For a moment he thought better to lie. _She would notice anyway... _"No. Never."

"Me neither. But we should manage to do something, don't you think?"

_Do something... _It was easy. He just let his instinct run. But it didn't last long. She's soft and smooth, her skin is cool and smells like bread and burnt sugar. Her blond head rests upon his chest. _Did I fumble it, Ellie? I don't dare to ask... But you wouldn't know anyway... I found it great..._

"You must leave now, Hyoga. Should the priest find you here I would be ruined. Even the cross around your neck wouldn't bring absolution for you."

He watches her dress up again, trying to gather the strength to do the same. _I have to ask her... _"Ellie?"

"Yes?"

_I like her with her hair untied... They're so thick... _"How... Did you like it?"  
She smiles. "Nor bad, Hyoga."

_Shush... _Hyoga exits from the bed. His clothes are spattered around.

"But, well..."  
_I knew, I knew! What did I do wrong?_

"...my name is not Freya."

To Hyoga it's like being hit on the head by a boulder. _I had hoped she wouldn't notice... How could her name come out?..._

"I didn't mind. I don't even want to know who she is. The problem is yours and yours only. I'll be waiting you, however... for a while..."

He knows that he should reassure her. Tell her that it was just a grotesque mistake. And that she's real and wonderful, while... "Freya is just a dream, Ellie. Dreams are things you wake up from."  
She nods.

"Now be quiet..."  
They leave the small room on tiptoes. Hyoga is able to dodge the toys left on the floor.

"Miho..." Hyoga follows Ellie's gaze. Miho is sleeping on the couch in the lobby. "She realized that we were together and chose not to disturb us. Miho..." Ellie shakes her gently.

The girl opens her eyes. "Hi..."  
"Hyoga is leaving... You can come now..."  
Hyoga would like to talk but he's embarrassed like a child. Happily Miho ignores him. She's somewhat bashful. Maybe she and Seiya quarrelled.

"Will you call me tomorrow?" Ellie asks.

"Sure..."

She blows him a kiss with her fingertips. _Sure... I'll call you for sure..._

Leaving the school Hyoga shudders. _How could I call her Freya? Why Freya? Granted... Before meeting Ellie I was more or less certain to love her... but this was before meeting Ellie... _Another shudder. _It's cold... Too cold... How much could it have become colder in these few hours? _It's not excessive. He's accustomed to be amidst the storms of Siberia with his bare arms. But it's not common. _Winter is coming._

11

It's an incredibly cyclical sequence. Light. Darkness. Light. Darkness. Light. The lights of the street traffic, like lanterns parading a summer festival, meet on his roof. He had a fit of heartening laughter and now his head is aching. And he's still asking himself _how could it happen to me? _He likes girls, possibly even too much. It's a matter of ego. He likes the loving smiles that Miho throws at him, and... and there's Saori... _Good God, she looks at me as if I were the most precious thing in the world... No, that's another thing... Better not to see things as they don't are... She's Athena... _A brief reflection. _C'mon, don't deny it! Athena got a crush on you! And Shaina knows... This is why she avoids me... _This simple idea sends him reeling. _There's never been anything between me and Saori...Why can't she see it? _Yes, he likes girls. He likes to have them at his feet. It makes him feel great. But with Shaina it's always been different. _Well, not always...At the start I'd been an idiot. _Seiya smiles in the dark, starting to feel better. _How old was I...? Ten? When I tried to impress her with that rabbit thing... I love you. I've been loving you since you opened your heart to me. Since you've been wounded to protect me. Since I believed that you were going to die in my arms. But I realized it too late... I couldn't name the strange sensation that took control of me when I was by your side. I want to hit someone... A good, old-fashioned battle with your life at stake. I want my bones broken, my muscles aching, sweat, blood all over my face and an adrenaline rush. I want to fight, any opponent is welcome. Even you. After all, for how long we didn't have had a nice scuffle? Please, please, please, if you make yourself heard, I promise to fight you. Seriously. I won't hold back because you're a woman. I will hit you as best as I can, promised... but, please, make yourself heard..._

The ring of the phone brings brusquely Seiya back to reality. _This is Miho telling me goodnight. I'm such a bastard... I'd better let go. Miho is a girl to marry. I could really live well with her. _Seiya picks up the phone, determined to be gentle. "Hello?"

"Hello, Seiya?"

Parched mouth. Head blowing. Legs shaking. "Shaina?" _I fell asleep and I'm dreaming. Shaina is not the sort to use the phone... And how could she have my number?_

"Yes. It's late there, right? I'm sorry."

_You're sorry? _"Dh... dh... dh..." _Damn! I'm stuttering! _"Don't worry! Tell... tell me."

"Hem... do you mind coming to pick me up at the airport, tomorrow? I should arrive at seven o'clock in the evening."  
_Who took away my oxygen? _"Do you mean you're coming here? Sure! Sure I'm coming!"

"You know... You're right... We must talk..."

_With that voice you can tell me anything you like. Insult me, if you wish to. God, I'll see you tomorrow! I'll see you tomorrow! _"Listen, Shaina... I..."

"Tomorrow, Seiya, ok? Goodnight."  
Seiya keeps on watching the silent phone. It's the beginning of the anxious phase. _She's coming to tell me to give up. That she doesn't love me anymore. _Then euphoria comes back. _No. She's coming to stay forever. I should sleep now... sleep... Damn, who make my wish real?_

INTERLUDE

Hot spicy wine... The biting smell of cloves fills his senses. He will probably be attended by a maid, at night. Maybe two. Dolvar sips his drink, gazing into his brother's eyes. He's the God of Peace. So perfect. Frey's superhumanly beauty cuts him every time like a knife. _You shouldn't have born, Frey... _At his table today are sitting just he and Loki. Loki, with eyes as sharp as a wolf's fang. His most trusted man. This difficult "wife" matter is in his hands.

"The next time you could bring Freya with you..." he tells Frey. His sister's reserve worries him. Freya, sapphire-eyed... Something is brewing inside her...

"You know her. She likes to spend her day weaving."

_Weaving webs against me... _Dolvar thinks. "Your sister is too lonely, Frey. Thankfully she will soon have good company." Dolvar waits a bit for the curiosity of his brother to grow. "Frey, my dearest. Soon another Freya will join our family. I plan to marry the princess from Asgard-By-The-Sea."

The young God's gaze lightens up while a mattering of disgust comes from Loki's direction. Dolvar grins. Loki loathes those from that cess-pool of fishermen. He himself is far from pleased of sharing his bed with a salty one. But great kings must sacrifice something for glory... He will have her bathed in perfumed ointments before leading her to the nuptial bed...

"And tell me, have you already arranged the thing with Queen Hilda? When will the wedding be?"

_Poor enthusiastic Frey... _"Very soon, Frey. My bride will be brought between these walls in a few days."  
Frey brings the calyx up. "So let me toast you, Princess Freya and the days of splendour that will befell upon Asgard!"

Dolvar answers his toast. _Yes, the future of Asgard. The future of the one and only Asgard..._

12

The temperature has pitched down. The warm autumn has left in a few hours. The thought makes her sad. In the dining room, Shun and June are having breakfast. None of them will be able to spend much time in the garden until next spring. Shun and June... Fit one another. She doesn't seem intentioned to leave. Saori isn't displeased by her presence, although she's used to be the only woman amidst reckless men. Ban and Nachi are also there. Sometimes Saori feels guilty about them. She knows that they're faithful, but still can't love them as she loves her five paladins. _And yet I'm their Goddess..._

Shun is perusing a review and June is peeking above his shoulder. Officially they're just friends, but June's feelings are clear. Saori wonders whether Shun is too shy or simply too naive.

When Shun notices her presence, the review disappears under the table. "Good morning, Miss Saori..."  
Four guilty, embarrassed faces... _What are you keeping from me, guys? _"What is there, Shun?"

"Nothing..."

"Shun!"

Resignedly, Shun places the review on the table. "I'm sorry. I didn't want you to see it."

"You cheesehead. It will be a disaster..." laments Nachi.

Saori scans through the pages... Fashion, travels, culture..."What page were you looking at?"

"Thirty-six."

"June!" Ban cries out.

"Forgive me! She asked it! She's Athena. We have to obey."

_Thank you, June... If only everybody would be as obedient...Page thirtysix... _There they are, in the gossip pages. Their picture is large enough. She'd like to read the column but the review isn't firm enough. Perhaps because her hands are shaking. _This is why he hasn't got the time to reply to my e-mails! Who's she? They're on a beach and they are kissing each other... The picture is crystal-clear... No mistake possible... _The tanned girl with the long blond braid... She's sure that she's already seen her. Finally she's able to focalize the letters. Most of them. _"The rich and young businessman Julian Solo... Tennis champion Annette Fourain... After a difficult year... mysterious disappearance... attempted kidnapping... Seems to have found his cheerfulness again with the young French athlete... At the upcoming benefit party that will take place at Solo mansion, Sunion Cape, they will probably make their relationship official..."_

_Relationship! And he said that he loved me! You will pay, Julian Solo! Probably you have forgotten what happens when I become angry!_

"Is it possible to have some coffee?"

Flora. She hasn't even noticed her coming. Also this morning she seems to have just come out of a fashion parade. A quite gipsy-style blouse, red pants and a big leather waist-band. _Go ahead, Julian Solo. Keep on eloping with that ball-girl with trunk-like ankles. You don't know my secret weapons! Flora! _Saori grabs her waist. "I need your help!"

Flora watches her puzzled.

_Don't breath. Say nothing. _Unmindful of the perplexed glances coming from her Saints, Athena drags Cassiopeia away.

13

She should tell her what she feel about them all. About their straight appearance. About the arrogance of a spoiled, cruel little girl who now pretends to have redeem herself in the name of a forgotten Goddess. About cruel Tatsumi, her henchman, who liked to torture helpless children, and about the legendary Mitsumasa Kido, father of a hundred, generated with some absurd plan for power and then thrown to the wolves to protect a newborn he wasn't connected with. O respectable Kidos. But she knows that it wouldn't be right. Not from her, at least. It must be said that the family of Andres Misoteos wasn't much more standard. Ikki's soul is a dark well she can't see the bottom of. _Your grandfather did this to him, Saori... _She hasn't felt better after exploring him. Not at all. But she didn't let it show. he took it all silently. He's lived his life all over again with not so much as a wink. Only when his memories touched upon that blonde girl, Esmeralda... Only then Flora felt his restless soul vibrate... _Killed by her own father... He memory... She and Shun are the only things brightening his shadow... _She, Shun and Goddess Athena. But his affection for the others, his brothers, is something he can't hide. _They have been your true rebirth, isn't it so, Ikki? Athena offered you her hand, your brother taught you the meaning of friendship. And you wish it could happen also to me. You're such a dear. Even if you left slamming the door... You're such a dear but there's nothing you can do for me. I0m only waiting. They will come for me. And anyway... what I did couldn't go away... Radamanthys... _He cultivated her hatred as if it was a sickly rose. He taught her the law of physical and spiritual pain. _Innocent eyes...How many of those I've hurt?_

_"Present for you, Flora. A young runaway... He's just thirteen..." _The dirty kid, with tattered jeans... Radamanthys had promised him food, possibly dope... He was so mangy. _"She's Flora, my fiancée. Really good looking, don't you find?"_

The nodding kid... _You're frail, kid... and only the strong will thrive..._

_"Merry Easter, kid. Do you want to eat?"_

Flora had watched him eat with fierceness, and then get drunk with vodka. _It will make his blood more fluid..._

The pentacle on the floor. Radamanthys drawing the boy to the centre of the star... He had started to complain... _"What are you doing..." _

That demon had laughed. _"Y' know, blood fascinates me. Every time I see it flow I have some wonderful sex..."_

His eyes widening in fear... such a wondrous fear... The knife in her own hands...

_"I love you" _had said Radamanthys. She had struck...

"Flora, are you all right?"

"Yes." _You're tenacious, Saori Kido._

The large bedroom of the young lady. Her wardrobe. Heaps of white and pastel clothes left on the floor.

"This one?" asks Saori, showing her a romantic pale yellow dress with embroidered lilac flowers. Flora shakes her head. The dress falls to the ground.

"Saori... I don't understand you. If you like them, why are you worrying? You can't turn yourself upside down for the sake of big hunk Julian Solo."

Saori draws out a white lace shirt. "He didn't even invite me, you know? But I'm going there anyway. We'll se if he's got the nerve to throw me out... And I want to be ravishing... When he'll see me, he won't remember so much as the face of Miss Wide Ankles..."

_You're already ravishing... _"Let's keep this one. It will fit perfectly over jeans or black pants. I also like very much the things you're wearing now." _Where's Athena gone? Standing before me there's just Saori, dressed in deep red. A young girl set upon winning the boyfriend of her dreams... _"Do you love Julian Solo?"

Saori puts the shirt aside. "How can you say such a thing? It's he that's in love with me. And I like things to keep this way."

_Crystal-clear. Teenage turmoil. Bless me, Athena because I've sinned in thoughts and deeds... How could any redemption proceed from this woman...?_

"Will you come shopping with me tomorrow?"

_Little Athena... They taught me to hate you. For ten years I've been wanting you dead... For almost twenty I've been living in the certainty that your destruction was necessary. They sang me songs about your slaughter to lull me into sleep... _"I don't think that I'll be her tomorrow. Don't overrate Ikki's influence on me. He has no interest in keeping me here. I did to him a job he didn't like."

Saori's face becomes scarlet.

"Hey, what are you thinking? Not that sort of job. I messed a bit with his mind..."  
Saori turns away, clearly embarrassed. "You always talk in ambiguous fashion... Do you like Ikki, don't you?"

"Yes, I like him. He's a cool guy and a standout fighter. This said, I'd still love to strangle him..." _Of course, he like to strike poses... The romantic hero... And he's so fool of himself, as if he was always in the spotlight..._

"What's got that Annette that I don't have?"

"What?" Saori is again talking about Julian Solo's flirt. "Nothing at all" she replies, even as her mind starts to think of numerous Machiavellian ways to torture and kill Ikki Kido.

"May I come in?"

_In this house 'come inside' is never heard..._

"Seiya!"

Saori's ecstatic cry makes her jump. _Pegasus Seiya... Here's the young Saint capable of reducing Athena to a stuttering toddler..._

"Do I bother? hello, Cassiopeia."

"Hello." She likes him. He never gives up. She has followed his battles, seeing him put his life on the line dozen of times. And he's not lost his sunny disposition yet. _His eyes will never stop beaming..._

"I need a favour, Saori."

"Anything you wish, Seiya!"

_'Anything you wish, Seiya'? Has she gone mad?_

"I need one of your cars. You won't believe it but... Shaina is bound to arrive at seven o'clock and I must welcome her... Isn't it wonderful?"

_Ouch..._

Saori's face becomes pale. She seems to have suddenly grown older. Jealousy must be a horrible thing... Seiya's was a wrong step. Flora wonders if he really doesn't understand what Athena feels for him. If the Goddess' feelings for Julian Solo are still blossoming, the ones for Seiya are already deeply rooted. "Of course, Seiya..." Athena's voice now resembles a raucous growl. "Why don't you use the limousine with the chauffeur? There should be some cold champagne there!"

Seiya throws up his right thumb. "Know what? It's a great idea! Thanks, Saori! Goodbye, Cassiopeia!" He says nothing more and leaves the room hopping like a cricket, ignoring Saori's stony expression.

"Mine wanted to be a sarcastic remark..." the Goddess complains. "Why is she coming? I didn't give her permission to leave the Sanctuary..." Saori lets her body fall to the floor amidst layers of silk and chiffon. "It always seems... That they don't want anybody except me... they offer me their love... But then they choose someone else..."  
Flora looks at her. She would like to say that Athena should not be wailing over such trifles. That only a madman would choose another woman before her. But that the human heart works mysteriously. Then she realizes that her knowledge on the matter is almost nonexistent. That she's never been in love. Never. Not even once. That every time she felt something sparkle inside herself she was always quick to extinguish it. Radamanthys was a jealous, possessive master. And she had more important thing to think about. But she's sure of one thing. "Saori... get him out of your head. You'll love better when you'll have accepted that he'll never love you as you would like him to..." This time she knows that she really has hurt her. Surprisingly she's sorry.

14

Rambling planes, taking off from Narita. Or maybe the rambling of his own blood madly rushing. He feels like crying and laughing at the same time. He feels like an idiot, standing there, bouquet in hand and he's feeling glad. _She will force every single flower down into my throat. _The air becomes clearer or maybe it's his eyes. She's waving. _She's unmasked... her face... Yes, those are her eyes... I should go and meet her... But I would fall after the first step..._

She finally reaches him. She smirks. _God, she can't be real... _"Hi!"

_Say something, fool! Get real! It's that crazy Shaina! Just Shaina! _But he's barely able to place the bunch of chrysanthemums in her arms.

"What is this? Seiya, I'm not dead yet..." she says cheerfully.

But he feels silly. In Italy those flowers belong to graveyards only... He read it somewhere but had the lack of spirit to forget about it.

"But they're beautiful..."

_Thanks. You're a dear. And I'm stupid. _Finally his voice returns. "Hey, are you tired? Shall we reach Kido Mansion to make you comfortable, and then go out for dinner?"

She becomes serious. "Seiya, I've booked a pension. I'm not staying in Kido Mansion. I've got the name somewhere."

He'd like to ask why. But he think to know it and after all it doesn't matter.

"Sir, shall I take care of the young lady's luggage?" The driver. He forgot about the driver.

Shaina is looking at the newcomer as if he was a living wonder. Probably she didn't get a word but has grasped his intentions. " Hold these for me" she says giving the flowers back to Seiya.

_Where are you going? Her hair... Strands of jade... Someone like you doesn't need anyone to carry her bags, right? the way you walk... You're not from this world, Shaina..._

When she's back she's got just one bag with her. "We can go" she says.

_Yes, I'll take you anywhere... Just let me watch you. Let me watch you again._

15

She's perfectly in control. Every now and then she twists her hands, but rigorously under the table. She knows that she shouldn't at all cost let Seiya notice what's going on inside her. It would be a mistake, after the tremendous work she's put in the last month into regaining 'the right Shaina', as she's fond to call it, the one who doesn't falter to weaknesses. It took an immense effort to decide to visit him in Japan, but she realized that this visit was the last trial before calling that chapter closed. She knows that it's time to play openly. To be transparent before him one last time to then restart from scratch. No more waking nights with his eyes bearing into her mind. No more inarticulate fidgeting of the heart at the simple thought of his smile. If Seiya needs to talk to her so badly, she's there to listen. But this time she won't let herself be carried by emotion.

But he's not speaking. His chin rested in a hand, he looks absent. he took her to the hotel, waited for her to change her clothes and then accompanied her to an Italian restaurant, where, needless to say, the house muzak system alternates classic _Volare oh oh... _with blood-curdling _O sole mio _and _Va pensiero _sang by Japanese amateur tenors. Something to literally die for. he's as silent as a tomb, almost. Every now and then he utters some distressed sound. All this without ever taking his eyes off her. _Now you don't know how to get out of it, don't you? You're discovering that having me around is not so fun..._

She feels out of place, despite her good intentions she didn't know what to expect. She just wanted an hour to close the matter. But things are proceeding quite badly. She doesn't talk, she just can't. And he's probably silent because is falling asleep. She should break that silence That's the reason why she's there. Or at least she should manage to return that indiscrete glance instead of lowering her eyes in mock indifference. _He knows... he knows perfectly his influence on me... he knows that he could have my life, should he want it... here I am... before my lord and master... The boy who made a puppet out of me... Ok, let's look at him... His elbow is planted on the table, his gaze is strange... Of course he's bored... His mind is probably elsewhere... _He looks so much younger than her. He's barely more than a child, yet he rules over every inch of her, like a demon of yore.

"Tomorrow I'll be visiting Athena..."

The silence is broken by such a simple phrase. Seiya appears to wake from a strange vision. His eyelids flatter perplexedly. "Excuse me... What did you say?"

_Great. This just makes it. He's not even listening. I'm not that interesting, anyway... God, how I love him... The mere thought hurts... Better get to the point. I'm here to get him out of head, not to get self-complacent. _"Seiya... You said that we have to talk... Fine, let's talk. We can't avoid it now. If you don't mind, I'll talk first, and please pay attention."  
He sets himself better on the chair, vigilant again. His boyish air faded somewhat.

_Yes, better close this whole matter... Better for both of us... _"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for having invaded your life this way... You know what you mean to me. I've been too brazen in showing it. I'm trying to free myself from this. Because it's not good for me and I believe you feel the same. So I don't want you to feel in debt with me for the two times I saved you..."

"Three times" Seiya amends.

_Fastidious... _"Three times... Well, it doesn't matter. Forget about those. Rightly so. What I want to tell you is that you can pretend that nothing happened, that I never told you my love. I must have been out of my mind then. You can go your way without ever fearing of meeting me anywhere." Done, in a single breath. The weight is lifted. Now she has just to wait the obvious consequences. She had never aimed so high. Seiya. She had never dreamed of reaching him. An unattainable object of desire. Now he's free from her obsessive, obnoxious presence. Free to join Saori Kido, if this is what he wants. Because she's sure that this is what he wants.

"Wonderful."

_Am I hallucinating or he's shaking? _As he starts beating the knuckles of his right hand Shaina realizes that something's wrong. because his face is livid and his eyes glint strangely. As if he was a child about to cry. "Seiya..."  
"Why don't you say it clearly? The crush is over for you. This is all You're dismissing me. Even if another term comes to the mind. Say it, don't wrap it up!"

"Seiya..." _Tears? Those are tears? Oh God..._

"Don't do this to me, please... At least let me try. I've been mentally practicing for months. I'm not that bad, you know? Why don't you want me anymore?"

Why has her blood stopped flowing? She's sure to be deathly pale, and almost as stiff. _What have I done?_

"I've always known that you were mad, but such... You can't make me fall in love with you only to cast me away. I didn't know you were a seductress. It's not right, not fair, don't you think?"

_I can't think of anything. I'm an idiot. I don't understand what's going on... _"Seiya, what did you say?" _He said he loves me. I heard it perfectly. he said so. Sure, I wasn't daydreaming._

"That it's not fair. It's a bad action. I can't go on like this, do you hear me? and I can see just three options. Let me tell you. First." Seiya waves his thumb. "You exit from my life and I am free to sleep soundly again, instead of waking up in the still of the night wondering what you're doing. But I don't think it's possible. It would take a long, painful disintoxicating cure from your person. Two. Follow me, please. I throw myself under a truck. A very large one. This is now the option closest to my heart. Although I believe it could be rather painful. For the truck driver, I mean. And three. Are you listening? This one is my favourite. I think about it all the time. You become my girlfriend, and stop suffering. We walk hand in hand and I tell everybody 'Hey, she's Shaina, my girlfriend!' Couldn't you just try? Or do you loath me so much?"

_I can't remember how to breathe... _"What does it mean... 'your girlfriend'?" _I want to stay with you..._

He seems to have calmed down but his expression is puzzled, as if the question was beyond him. "Well, it means that... that you're mine... That's what it means..." She doesn't see him move, nor reach over the table, throwing the basket of bread down. But she feels his lips and her heart stops. _Oh, no... again... Check yourself... Don't... _Soft lips, the warm, wet touch of his tongue, the hardness of his teeth, a taste of mint, and manly, spiced perfume, along with a strange sensation of warmth filling every single cell of her... Only when he draws away from her she masters the force to half-open her eyes, only to discover that she's still in that lousy restaurant.

"No... From the way you kiss me, I can tell that you don't really want to dump me" he whispers on her lips.

_Scent of peppermint... My head spins... Do it again please..._

"I'm taking it for a yes, you're warned... You're my girlfriend and anybody touches you, he dies..."

_Ask him before losing the strength... _"Seiya... Are you really in love with me?"

Again his lips, just those, this time. But it's enough. " 'fraid so..."

_So am I. _But strange noises come from her right, emanating from a little man with mount Vesuvius embroidered on his white apron. The smiling waiter asks something in his strange language. Seiya sinks in his chair again, satisfied. _What a nice smile you have now..._

"He's asking if we're ready to order. I think we should..."

"If this is an Italian restaurant, why is he speaking Japanese?"

He laughs in his merry way. _It's good to see you happy..._ _I've never see you so... _"What about a nice dish of spaghetti?" he says.

_How trite... _"Ok." _Even if they will be spaghetti only in name. I'm sure that they will be the best I've ever eaten._

16

_Agony... Perhaps he's not accustomed to driving on the left... Nobody should be entitled to thus torment an electric blue Lamborghini Countach... This is cruel and unusual punishment. Butcher people's mind as you will but don't harass this poor car!_

Their night out promises nothing good; she had expected as much. Notwithstanding that Ikki has cleaned up his act and is wearing a shirt fresh out of dye-works. _I must have hit his yearly shower day. Smart mouth me..._

Flora picks the remaining half of the reefer up from her purse. Her secret weapon to tone up, although she has to withhold tremendous burst of coughing. "Want some?" she says, using the car's lighter.

He keeps looking at the road, as if facing some unknown enemy. "Never when I'm driving.

Flora inhales grudgingly. "You're driving at thirty kilometres per hour. You could crash into a wall without even being ruffled." She blows the smoke out pretending to have inhaled deeply. She's wondering how can so many people rave about this stuff.

"Should I dent it, Saori will have my head... What are you smoking, precisely?"

_This speed is making me drowsy... _"Some sort of opiate, I believe."

"Get rid of it!"

_Are you raising your voice with me? _She looks at him crossly. He glares at her furtively, then returns his concentration on the driving. "Should the police catch you with that thing you'd go to jail."

"I'll ask sanctuary at the Russian embassy. Are you going to push the accelerator or not?" _Almighty Phoenix, sluggish and with seatbelt strapped on..._

"When we drive back you'll take the wheel, so you'll quit bitching."

_Good. At least tonight something good will happen. My beloved Lamborghini, in two or three hour you'll be in my hands... _"Listen, Ikki, are you angry with me for yesterday?" Mirror play. His journey in the past drew out of him such a cruel expression, it almost scared her. For an instant she feared that he was going to jump at her throat.

"No. From the likes you I couldn't expect anything but morbid, sick curiosity. But it's my turn now."

_The likes of me? _"I thought we were even."

"Like hell we are! You took my entire life, I took just a day however crucial. So now you have to give me more of you."

"What for example?" A creepy feeling. Everybody wants to fish in troubled waters.

"For example you could tell me something about that demon bedfellow of yours..."

Nausea. Again that kid. The bloody, gaping wounds, held by sterile gauze that will probably become infected anyway. Radamanthys who puts in his hand a wad of dollars and throws him out. She just wants to shower before the blood encrusts and starts to make her skin itch. And the smell of Radamanthys. She wants it to disappear too...

"He had no goat foot, horns or pitch fork. Enough?" _Fucker..._

_Hey, I'm hearing you... _"And then?"

"Then what?"

"Tell me more about you. Something good. Something dear to you."

Emptiness. She's closed in herself. She's losing at her own game. And he smirks. He's having a good time. Because there's nothing in her. Nothing she could remember affectionately. Nothing that makes her happy.

"Yes, there is. I'm sure there is. And I'll find out, trust me."

_Sure. But you're not changing gear. You exit all curves in fifth. At twenty per hour._

17

_This is too much... Of course, I'm in Japan but why do I have to heat kneeling? Provided that I can put something in my mouth before a nervous breakdown. _And her shoes are gone. Vanished. Japanese are obsessed with shoes. It seems that their streets teem with bacilli, judging from their systematic practice in taking off their foot wear before entering closed environments. All that put on and take off makes her head spin. And slippers ruin her image. The place looks very expensive. Probably Saori is backing the evening. Paper screens slighting, something like _shoji_, ladies in kimono serving, silent patrons and agonizing background music. A litany similar to a nursery rhyme with sudden burst of pretended passion. "It's an _enka_" told her the fuck... Ikki. Time to be diplomatic. He's gazing at her from the other side of the table, which he called _kotatsu_, apparently having a great time. Arms folded and a genial smile on the brutish face. And he's full. It took him ten minutes to empty his fish and rice course.

"You're throwing sashimi all over the room." he states it as if it was badinage.

_Great. Just great. make fun of me. As if I was the strange one. How do you manage to eat with these things? _A stick falls on the table. After a bit of commotion she manages to catch the other one in midair.

"Trouble with _waribashi_?"

_He's doing it on purpose! This skunk is doing it on purpose! He's trying to make me feel out of place! must put an end to this! _Grabbing the stick like a stiletto Flora aims at the magnificent composition in her dish. _Face-off time!_

"Don't do it!" Ikki takes her hand with a firm yet gentle hold. "It would be an incredibly rude gesture. You could only disappear after such a thing."

She would gladly talk trash to him, tell him something stingy on their absurd customs and about true bad manners. But she can only think that his hand is warm in a strangely comforting way. It's strong and slightly coarse, yet fine. And she asks herself how it would be like to feel it upon herself, slow and sensual. _How is that hand when it strokes instead of striking?_

"It seems you have a problem." Ikki releases her hand, causing her strange feeling of void.

_I knew... he heard me... I can't afford to lose control... _But after a moment she realizes that he's talking about food. "Can I have a fork?" she asks. This situation has to end now.

"Do you give up?"

"The devil take you! I'm not quitting!"

"Nice shirt..." Ikki says as she reengages battle with the fish fillets.

"Thanks." She chose red for the evening, although paired with ochre pants. It's an aggressive, domineering colour. He must know that she's making the rules.

"And... do you really think that I'm...what did you say?...a remarkable specimen?"

She raises her eyes, looking at him as if he'd gone crazy. _Say...do you think it's the right time?_ "You know that it's not nice from you to remember it, do you?" She doesn't know what passed through her mind that time. tall, gorgeous, with a physique to die for... She gave it no weight. _A remarkable specimen. _Telling him that she found him attractive had seemed her but a trifle. And she'd never been in such a situation. He had only a few minutes to live...

"You didn't answer me..."  
"I have eyes, you know." _If only I could catch at least one roll..._

He caps the hands behind his head, smiling coyly.

_How gosh... _"Get that conceited expression off your face." She's yawning a lot tonight and it's not like her. She's too nervy. Her heartbeat is rushing. A late side effect of the grass she smoked. _Teaches me to pose as a junkie. _Even though as a rule hemp relaxes... _This beer tastes of nothing..._

"You're already lean enough. You'll die of consumption. I can't allow it..." he stands up and walks around the _kotatsu_, then kneels behind her.

_Now what does he have in mind? _He places the chopsticks between her fingers, much too kindly. "See... It's easy. Doesn't matter your sloppiness.."

_No, no, get away._

"Hold them this way..."

_Is he sick? His body temperature is too high..._

"You must move just one of them..."

_Smells of wet earth... An ample chest against my back... He's doing it on purpose... He's rubbing against me..._

"Your hand is shaking too much, Flora... Chill. Don't be so rigid.."

_Sure. That's easy..._

"Now open your mouth..."

_I'm behaving like an idiot, _she thinks as she lets Ikki guide her hand like a toddler being fed by the mother. _Elbow his gut and put him back into place... _Instead she chews and swallows without sensing any taste whatsoever.

"Now do it on your own" he tells her, then he kisses her cheek and returns to his sitting place. Smirking like the cat after having eaten the canary.

_Magnificent. A brotherly, tender kiss on the cheek... _"You stinking son of a whore, what do you think you're doing?" she asks smiling. In truth she's furious. With herself, not with him. This despite he's being not blameless, because if her body is in turmoil it's because of him... _He's toying with me, and I'm just letting him do it... He knows that he attracts me madly. All right, I admit. He attracts me madly. He's realized it before I did, maybe even immediately._

"I taught you how waribashi are used... So do you like the food? need some more _aji-no-moto_?"

_What the hell is that... _"Yes, moderately." truthfully she can't discern any taste. But her answer has been cold and detached enough. "Naturally you'll have to wait to taste my _blìnciki _before saying that you've ever tasted something good." She lowers her eyes thinking about pastries. A harmless thing.  
"I'm in, whatever it is. Unless they're poisonous. I didn't know you could cook..."

Once made clear, this chopsticks thing has become easier than she thought. Despite the fact that her mention of _blìnciki_ has been taken as an invitation. "There are many things that you ignore about me..." _I'm not going to let you win, Ikki. Doesn't matter that you're on your home ground. You're treating me like a naive toddler. _Probably he's employing some other strange mental trick. He seems to know in deep the weak points of the human soul... even her own one's, and he's bringing them in the open one by one, with an art he seems to have being practicing for centuries. "Are you sure you're only twenty?"

His mind again. Inflamed. Furious... Or maybe scared. But open and clear, and for this reason terrifying. _What are you doing to me, Flora?_

She looks at him. His is an inquisitive glance, apparently bent on flaying her soul. She's never been so surprised. Ikki is afraid of her. _Me? It was you..._

_Stop it. It's making me sick, Flora. You win, but please stop now. I can't stand it._

_I'm doing nothing..._

But he's not listening. He's veiled his thought again. A shadow in his eyes. A malevolent, terrorized shadow. Something that puts her on edge. Ikki's fear is contagious. _He would love to destroy me, right now._

18

Longest evening in his existence. He'd like to bring her back to Kido Mansion and stop it there. he would like to bring her back to Kido Mansion and then go out again and find himself a girl. Any girl. Better if fat, short and with rotten teeth. This could heal him. Or have a cold shower. Less time-consuming. To return to Kido Mansion and have a nice cold shower. But it's not get over. And he couldn't say that it surprised him. The signs were all there, since he asked Shun to arrange decently his few clothes. And faced with his brother's disheartened expression he asked Ban to borrow him something bearable. Then he spent too much time in front of the mirror. Still he thought that he was bound to hate mirrors forever after what befell him. He has no doubts: her cursed mirrors hold hidden powers he doesn't yet know. But he's suffering the consequences. because when he saw her dressed to kill for the evening he felt what Seiya would call "butterflies in the stomach". And she noticed. This is why she played it bold, throwing him fiery glances, and bringing her cigarette to her lips as if it was a high point of eroticism. he tried to remain cold, but at the restaurant things took a wrong turn. It could have been the beer. But suddenly he felt the urge to take her hands, for his own good. The chopstick were the excuse, feeling utterly pathetic. Flora's hands... slender, pale and smooth. At least he could have avoided kissing her cheek... He's sure that there must be a way to break her spell, whatever her spell may be.

The rink is alight and empty. The guardian was waiting for them. Flora called Saori "wicked", but her expression was of absolute rapture. She asked the guardian a musical accompaignment. She complained mildly while putting the skates on. "They're not my skates... I can feel it..." he stayed by her side wondering how could things have so changed in but a few minutes. _She seems a little girl in a doll shop. _He eyed suspiciously his own pair of skates, only to decide to ignore them. His element is fire. She's now in the rink, her features wearing the expression all nineteen years girls should wear. One of a mind free of cares, ready to pick up the future with both hands. _I knew... I knew there was something that could make you happy... _She laughs as the blades skid on the ice and her quick, perfect ankles change step. _Just the sight of you makes my head spin. _

"Do you like skating?" Flora yells him.

"I like hockey" he replies.

She pouts. "I'm not completely rusty, don't you think?" A pirouette. "Would you like to see a butterfly?"

He grins_Right out of my stomach?_

"If I had a partner near I could try a few holds..."

He shakes his head. "Don't look at me."  
Flora seems elated. "I'm not that crazy. I need a pro. You would make the both of us fall.

_Wise girl. _She spins and spins, like a spinning top, aware of every movement, wholly in control of the white surface. _Who's singing now?...'Don't wanna live all by myself...' Don't you think about it... _he says to himself.

She's standing before him, leaning against the mesh. "So, are you coming? Do you need help to put the skates on?" Her eyes are sparkling.

_Where has the witch gone? This is what I saw in the dept of your soul... This is why I wanted you to live. For that light in your eyes now... Someone stop this song now... _"No. I can do it myself." It can't be that difficult. It's probably just a matter of balance... She's humming, patiently waiting for him to stop fiddling with the strings.

"What a beautiful song... Probably the guardian mistook us for a couple..."

_Right. Probably. _He stands up, discovering that standing is easy on terra firma. The descent on the ice is more troubled. She moves to the centre of the rink.

"Are you coming?"

He's still leaning against the mesh, then, taking heart, he lets go. Flora is calling him forth with her index.

"Forget it. Where are the brakes?"

"To stop you have to use the tip of the blade."

_Talking is easy. Why me? Hyoga would be so happy in my place now..._

"Come here. I'll make you stop, relax..."  
Ikki launches himself. _I'm being quite unimpressive... _Panic sets him as he more or less crashes into her. Flora maintains her equilibrium circling her arms around his waist. "You also bumble at some things, it would seem..."

"Sorry." He finds nothing better to do than to grab her shoulders.

"'Terrorized' is how I'd define your expression..."

_Ok. Make fun of me, if you wish to. Just keep on smiling like this..._

"Waltz?" He's got no time to protest. She's turning on herself, carrying him along. _My head is spinning. I'm too close to her. Should she notice the state I'm in she'd become a fury. _"Don't hold me so strongly, Ikki. I'm not going to let you fall."

_I'm already falling and I can't see the end of it... _"Listen, Flo... "  
She laughs, and Ikki forgets what he was about to say. "My brother called me Flo...He said that it saved time... Tell me..."

_I don't know, I don't know. I only know that you'll knock me out because I'm kissing you without asking you consent. I can feel you. I'm holding you tight, to never let you go. The taste of your lips, the aroma of your skin... You're not pushing me away. No... But you're wondering why...why do you feel so. I don't know, Flo... I don't know. But it scares me... How long can a kiss last? Could it last forever. I want it to last forever..._

The ice proves slippery. _Game over. _He latches onto her again, to remain standing.

"Excuse me. I left the hold." Flora says, head leaning on his shoulder.

"No. Excuse _me..._" _Excuse me for everything. Excuse me because I'd do it again._

"There's nothing to do. You're unfit for skating..."

_She's laughing I didn't know I have this effect on girls. _"Cig fix time. Join me?" he asks. _Sooner or later I'll have to face her..._

"Ikki... I don't smoke. Let's get out of this rink."  
_Of course. She doesn't smoke. She flaunts reefers just to look cool. She's crazy._

He joins her laughter, thinking that perhaps leaving the ice will not be that difficult. _Should she ask me, I'll spend the night with her. Only should she ask._

19

_Should he ask me, I'll spend the night with him. Only should he ask. _She still feels like laughing. The car sweeps on the asphalt. The engine roars with joy. _Finally someone is making it run. It's glorious... I could run to the edge of the world... _Not that she's not expected a kiss from him. All in all it had taken him too long. But the effects... From her mouth it went straight to her brain. And he didn't bite her lips making them bleed. He didn't squeeze her face in his hands leaving bluish traces for more than a week. _So this is the way a man kisses... A human being, a completely human being... _Her heart beats in unison with the engine. _Are you the same Ikki? Then why I would never take mi eyes away from you?_ He's tensing, perhaps high speed upset him. But he doesn't complain and she gives full throttle. _C'mon, baby. We're almost there. Then we'll see please, Ikki, don't bid me just goodnight._

"Turn to the ri... Damn you missed it!"

"Sorry, I was distracted." Without losing a second she does a U-turn. She finds the right way and takes it.

"You're crazy..."  
"This is the way of driving where I come from."

He sighs, checking his sit belt. "Uncivil, barbaric country..."  
"Listen, Russia may be a sty, but it's my sty, got it?" She's not really angry, but something tells her that a little spat is now timely.

"To anybody his own sty" he comments.

_Yes, you're a fucker. The most fabulous fucker I ever met._

The gates of Kido mansion open before them. Flora decides it's time to slow. The garage is lit with white neon. "Should I leave the keys in?" she asks.

He leaves the car as if sea-sick, wobbling. "We're whole. I didn't hope so much.

_What now? _The stairs are in the dark, the house silent. _I'd better calm down. My legs are shaking and if I fall now there will be fracas and everybody will wake... _When she realizes the total silliness of such thoughts they're already in front of her room. _What now? What should I do? Come on...ask me to let you in... I like you, I like you madly and you know it._

Ikki doesn't say a word. He's looking at her, sadly, she thinks. _Perhaps, I should..._

"Goodnight, Flora." Ikki takes her hand in his own. Nothing more. Then he vanishes in the shadows of the corridor. Flora stumblingly searches for the doorknob... Inside the room, her reflection, tenfold times. She leans against the closed door, wondering what's happened.

_It's all because of Radamanthys. This is why he doesn't want me... I can't blame him... _She has to make a choice. To call it over and face the next day as if nothing happened. Or go knocking at his door, risking to be spurned. _Don't do it... Don't be a fool... What's happening to you? _It's something taking her at the stomach. _I'll leave tomorrow... So it doesn't matter. I want Ikki. I don't know why. So, if I'm leaving tomorrow it doesn't matter if I'm spurned or not. It's a battle. Determination is paramount. _

When she opens the door she's on a warpath. _Determination... Deter... _When she finds him there, her breath is cut short. He still has that gloomy look on his face. _You're back... Would you have stayed behind my door or were you going to knock?_

Ikki's voice is low and hesitant. "Forgive me... I wanted to tell you that it's been a nice evening..."

_Yes, understood. We're two fools and tomorrow we'll kick ourselves for it._

It's unclear if he entered on his own will or if she has dragged him in. It's also unclear who locked lips with the other first.

_I'm about to discover...How are your caresses..._

_Tell me to leave, Flora. Tell me to leave now..._

_Forget it..._

INTERLUDE

Three months of mourning are not enough, yet the Queen of Asgard knows that her people must return to their common lives before losing themselves in their tragedy. This is why even that disgraced year she decided to hold celebrations in the anniversary of her ascent to the throne. With less pomp than usual, because this time there will be no parading Warriors. Her Warriors are now in Valhalla. Because of her madness. But life has to go on. Despite the still panging sorrow.

"The Princess of Blue Grado Natassia will come in representation of King Alexer. The Priest of Asgard-Parva replied that he'll be sending the commander in chief of his army... More than I was expecting, after all." The great ones don't come in person to honour a defeated Queen. The ruler watches her sister, still turning her back on her, searching for something behind the window, in the dark artic night. "Freya..." She wishes she had a cure to her sickness. Once her smile was radiant. Then Hagen fell in combat. But it's not this what's haunting her now... How many times in the last few months she had had to answer the same questions? "Am I a horrible person, Hilda?" She asks it with her wide, frightened eyes. As if each time her life depended on her own answer. "I want to see him again. He killed Hagen, the man I was going to marry. But all that I want is to see him again. Am I a monster, sister?" her reply is constant. "No, you're a human being. There was a war. Hagen and Hyoga fought on opposite sides. Hagen lost." _You should be confident, Freya... You're enchanting...A magnificent flower... A mirthless flower... Hyoga is a honourable, valiant young man, Freya. Your feelings for him are reasonable. And Hagen knew. You were already lost to him. He lost you the moment you took Hyoga's side..._

When her sister turns, her green eyes glimmer unnaturally. Or perhaps it's just the reflection of the fireplace.

"He will come, will he, Hilda?"

The Queen nods. In truth she received no answer from Athena yet. Besides what could be the effect on her people were the Goddess who caused their downfall present? _She saved us all, really, but I don't think they would see it that way... Siegfried... _She misses him. Her Warrior, her companion, her tender lover. But she must look further.

"Was there need to invite also Asgard-Parva?" A childish pout appears on Freya's chiselled face. "We are the real Asgard. They're just a bunch of rough woodcutters..."  
Hilda smirks. A historical rivalry. The right to flaunt the name of the city of the Gods. A bloody war. Then peace, and that odd form of kinship... Asgard-Parva. A few miles less of extension gained it the nickname. They're at peace, indeed. But the mutual spite hasn't vanished. "Freya, Highest Dolvar and his own are our allies, remember..." 'Highest' Dolvar... That man doesn't fit her taste and he never did... But a Queen must be able to put on a brave face.

"Oh, well. I'll be very kind" concedes Freya without caring to hide her disappointment.

Hilda relaxes in her armchair. The fireplace is good in that cold night. _Yes, we'll be kind... It's a feast after all..._


	3. The Season of Love II

20

_And now?_ He's holding his head, unable to think coherently. He's trying to find the strength to get up of that bed and leave. Instead he keeps looking at the layer of glass shards on the floor. _How did it happen? _The room was flooded with light. _Flames... _The Phoenix flames reflected in every mirror, then the explosion. Broken glass._ We must have awaken everybody up. Yes, but how did it truly happen? _He went back. _She's the loveliest thing I've ever seen. I must have her, damn all consequences...What an absurd thought... _He doesn't know whence or why she came, but she was waiting for him. He used to think he already knew hell... but it was nothing. Nothing compared with Flora's skin, whose smell enthrals him. _She's like any other girl, why then? _Ripping her clothes off and carrying her on the bed had seemed an absolute priority. _I'll feel better afterwards... _But it didn't go this way. He got afraid. Afraid that it could end too soon. Afraid of leaving behind something to be longed for. And afraid that he was doing it just fro his own sake. So his caresses became longer, his kisses deeper, as he stifled that absurd, crazy voice telling him to just take her and be done with it quickly. _Her body is hell. You wanted my soul, you got it. Why are you different? _Flora, clinging to his shoulders, squeezing him as if to entrap him forever, biting her lips not to cry as her mirrors go aflame and explode, Flora bursting in tears after letting him see what it means to lose oneself in another human being. He had hugged her like he'd never hugged someone, wondering what sort of ghastly error he did to make her cry that way. "I hurt you." Fear returning. _No, not to you, not to you, please. _"No" she had replied. Then her silent voice inside his head. _It's just that I didn't think it possible... I didn't believe it could be so... So what?... I don't know... Sweet... _How long did he stay that way before falling asleep? Hugging her, happy and scared. _Where were you? Where have you been until today? How did I manage to survive without you? _He really had hoped that the morning light would have given him back his mind. He stands worse than then. _Keep sleeping... Don't wake up, Flora... Don't' look at me... _Her back is turned to him, wrapped as she is in a tangle of sheets, totally unmoving. One shoulder, part of the neck, her mane of black hair upon the pillow. _I want to hug you again... _tiny fragments of glass are planted in his skin and burn like vitriol. _Get away from here. If you don't go now you won't ever be able to leave her. You cannot afford it. It must not be. Phoenix flies alone. All who come near its wings are burned. _White skin, black hair... He holds back the temptation to fondle her... That absurd, most strange sensation of completeness... _Get away from here. Now. Or she'll absorb your strength... _A lazy stirring makes Ikki hold his breath. But she keeps on sleeping. He puts his clothes back on, ignoring the shards planting in his foot soles. He leaves behind the shirt he borrowed from Ban. No time to return it. _It was nothing,_ he mumbles. _Just sex. We'll get over it. _He doesn't turn back to look at her. He know it would be a mistake. _Goodbye, Flo. Sorry._

21

He always goes jogging before anybody wakes up. The morning air nourishes his body and spirit, even on a day promising to be cold as today. He wasn't expecting to find someone else already around. Instead, he saw his brother, as stealthy as a thief and bare-chested, creep out of the room of the strange girl who's been living at Kido Mansion of late. Then he entered his own room and after a while got out with new clothes. He knows that they went out together the preceding evening. A deal struck with Saori, according to him. _Of course... I see... _He followed him to the garage. Ikki is intently busting around a black motorbike. _Got it. He's running away._

"Hey, are you going somewhere?" he asks.

Ikki turns around, looks at him for a moment, then resumes working around the bike.

"Will you leave your Cloth here?" Still no answer. "What a nice bike... Is it a gift from Saori?"

"It's not a gift. You don't know what I had to do to have it."

_Think again. I think I know it well. _"You struggled long and hard, didn't you?"

Ikki turns around again. Now he's looking angry and suspicious. "Shun, be careful, you're taking a risk"

Shun smirks. "What an ill humour... What's the matter? Did you have a spat with Cassiopeia? Has your date gone wrong?"

"Shun, I don't feel like joking..."  
Something is wrong. His brother _never _feels like joking. But that morning it seems it's even worse than that. Something's definitely wrong. "What's happened, Ikki? Why do you behave like you had a hellhound on your trail?" _Silence again. This is wrong. What did you do with that girl? _An absurd suspicion, yet his heart is telling him that he's right. "Have you at least told her goodbye? Or are you fleeing even from her?" _What's happening to you, Ikki?_

His brother puts the helmet on, jumps on the bike and revs the engine.

"Are you fleeing from her? If I didn't know you, Ikki, I would think you're in love..."  
A mischievous glint comes from inside the helmet. Shun realizes that he's maybe going too far. _It would make no sense to ask you when we're going to see you again..._

"Shun, your blondie thinks you're hot. Don't wait until you become grey."

Just that. A nasty remark about June. Then the bike roars away and his brother disappears from sight. _Why? Why do you always have to act like this? Why can't you settle down?_ Disappointed, Shun realizes that outside it's starting to rain. _It won't stop me. I need to run. Now more than ever._

23

The falling rain mirrors perfectly her mood. She should be furious, but she's just sad. Blue lighting, then thunder. Her clothes are glued to her. Even his straw yellow shirt. He left it in her room. She put it on unthinkingly. It smells of him. It's harder than she thought. Whatever it's been, she can't put it away and forget about it. She lost her head, completely and unmistakeably._ Ikki is so strong... so sweet... _The fucker is able to make her feel safe, and not just that. The fire that burned inside her the previous night was totally unexpected. She had thought she would die. _Keep me with you... Keep me with you forever..._She couldn't withhold tears. And the way he held her, as if to comfort her... _I'm fine... Don't worry, I'm fine... _"I hurt you..." Ikki's voice trembling with insecurity. _No, idiot...This is the point... You didn't hurt me...You treated me with care...You carried me through... _"No" she had replied, empty-headed, her mind unable to elaborate beyond that 'no'. _You got it, Ikki, right? You've realized that it was the absence of pain what surprised me... This is why you left...It made you remember who I am. _She did wrong in a way she couldn't grasp. Perhaps she should have been, what?, less brazen, less... less... She can't guess. She doesn't know of a way different from giving herself completely. This is what Radamanthys always wanted. And she knows only what he taught her. "Don't cry out. Do as I say. Take it in silence. You're going to enjoy it." _How old was I the first time he took me? When he marked me forever...This is why you left, isn't it? You loathe me... It's what I deserve... You shrink from corruption...You're right... I'm rotten... rotten... rotten...Where has the rain gone?_

"Come inside. You're going to get ill."  
_Saori Kido. What a nice idea you had. Thank you for the evening._

Goddess Athena has taken her under a wide red umbrella. But she wants the rain back. Afterwards she will perhaps feel clean. "Was it part of your plan that Ikki should make love with me only to vanish the morning after?"

Saori lowers her eyes. Flora knows that she's feeling guilty. "I'm sorry. That's Ikki."

"I see that you know what you're talking about." Flora sighs. That's a bad thought. Saori's never been touched by a man, so much she knows.

"Come inside, Flora. Please. If you get ill, we won't go shopping. And I want that tonight we all go skating..."

_So moving. You and your childish way to comfort people...You'll have your new dress, rest assured, but now leave me alone... _"Go away, Saori. I don't want anybody around.

Athena nods. "As you wish... Should I leave you the umbrella?"

A glare is enough. Athena gets the message and leaves without a word.

23

He's upset as somebody bound to face an exam. Saori won't be happy. He's not ready to cross the border of the Villa. He just stands under the big umbrella, holding her with all of his strength.

"Seiya, you're going to rip my arm off..."  
He lets go. _How can you be so calm? _Saori Kido, Goddess Athena, is waiting. Seiya knows that he has to tell her. To tell Saori about himself and Shaina being together. He's sure that she'll be saddened and that he will feel a creep. Because loving Saori would be easy. She's gorgeous, sweet, generous... But he's chosen the hard way. And he wouldn't trade Saori's perfection with his very own Shaina. Because it doesn't matter how wonderful Saori Kido is. When you love somebody, that person looks simply wonderful to you. And Shaina is just like that. Wonderful. _I wish Saori could understand, so that she wouldn't feel bad about it. She's Athena and I'm her saint. I thought it was clear, to her, to me...But now I'm not so sure about it. What if the others were right? What if Athena loves me? Please, Saori, be a Goddess. Don't forget it now. Set me free. I want to be with her. Do understand me. It doesn't mean that I'll be less devout. Just don't try to divide us..._

"Seiya, what are we waiting for exactly?"

"For the grass to grow..."  
Shaina giggles. Laughing befits her, although she doesn't do it often. When did he see her smile for the first time? Yes, it was after Poseidon's demise..."You're too nervous. Are you sure there's nothing between you two? One doesn't get this impression..."

_Please, don't start it again..._"I'm sure. Nothing of the sort. From me, at least..." _Not anymore. Old stuff._

"So? Shall we enter? I have to, anyway... I'm just going to greet her. I'm not planning to show you like a trophy."

_I know. You like to be discreet. But I'd like to exhibit you..._"Shaina, could you tell me your real name?" He's sure that such a secret revealed will prove more binding than any promise. To know her name and keep it secret... A gesture of trust. Even though he's got nothing to offer in return.

She looks at him, indecision playing into her green eyes. Seiya knows that he's asking much. But it must be said that he's determined not to have any other woman. When the time will come he's going to say her name loud, the real, secret name... Shaina brings her lips to his ear. It's but a whisper, yet it fills his head. _Now I'm ready._

"It's a wonderful name, and... It fits you."  
She smirks. _Wonderful. _"It's yours now. Keep it carefully."  
"It's a promise" he replies, then he kisses her lips. _Yes, now I'm ready..._

24

Some days start badly and it's imperative to give them a twist so that they don't end even worse. Saori Kido awoke with a terrible headache, made even stronger by a quick glance to the economy section in the newspaper. The Solo Group is rising higher and higher. The Graude Foundation is stationary. Then came rain. And Ikki seducing her sis... Flora and running away. _You will pay for it, Ikki. _Then she called doctor Takahoka. Finally Shiryu allowed a medical visit, but sadly the result wasn't comforting. Not at all. His optical nerve is damaged beyond repair. Probably only the power of his Cosmo enabled him to see still. Saori's worried. Shiryu's will to fight is dwindling and with his spirit also his sight will vanish. She's made contact with several specialists around the world and is waiting for an answer. For the time being the only thing she knows for sure to be in her possibilities is making Shunrei come. Only she could persuade him to accept treatment. This is her hope. Her headache is not going away. And now Hyoga is beginning to make trouble. The occasion was an invitation from Queen Hilda of Asgard to a celebration. The sovereign invited her or a representative. And inside the brief was another, strongly perfumed letter for Hyoga specifically. From Princess Freya. It would have been her duty to answer affirmatively to the invitation. But the malignant will working against her set the celebration the very same two days of the indispensable party of Julian Solo. She had to make her mind quickly. On one side her duty, an alliance to consolidate, and a fundamental gesture of friendship. On the other the charming prince, who has to be rescued from the evil, big-ankled hag's clutches. Saori prevailed upon Athena. And as Her Highness Freya seems so affectionate to Hyoga and inquired about him she thought that sending to Asgard her own warhorse Cygnus saint was the best solution. Instead he's now making a scene holding the letter from the young Princess.

"Really, Saori-san. I wish you could find a different solution. I don't feel like returning to Asgard..."  
Saori watches him taking every minimal detail in. Low, glazed eyes. Lips trembling slightly. Hyoga is not at ease. Should she wish to she could scan his thoughts, but it wouldn't be fair. "I fail to see your issue. You don't have to stay for the entire proceedings. Showing up at the final ball will be enough..."  
"Why me?"

_How fitting, the tone of a chastised child... _"Because Hilda asked specifically you and Freya wrote to you personally."  
"But you also have been invited..."  
Saori crosses her arms. "Sadly I was already engaged and I don't wish to discuss the matter further. You're leaving for Asgard tomorrow. You'll be present, like it or not."

"But..."

Saori sighs. "Or explain me the reason of your absurd reticence."

Hyoga does not reply.

"See? Go there with your Cloth well brushed up. You'll see, the ladies of Asgard will fall for you en masse. You may leave now. And don't forget that tonight we're all going out skating."  
Hyoga looks up. "Can I bring someone with me?"  
_Enough! _"Bring who you wish to, just get out of my sight now."

Hyoga sketches a bow and leaves the study room. _It can't get worse than this. Or is it?_

25

He should have told her. _Athena, understand me. I'm afraid of seeing Freya again. _But cowardice took hold of him. To say those words aloud... It would have been an admission of guilt. "Good luck. She's in an awful mood" he told Seiya, who was waiting outside Saori's study. Seiya, a hand entwined with Shaina's... _Two day ago he was flirting with Miho...Incomprehensible... Saori won't like it one bit... _But on the other hand he's not in the position to criticise Seiya. Because his is a huge problem. He throws himself on the bed and finally masters the strength to open the envelope. The Princess has a wiry, elegant handwriting.

_My dearest Hyoga..._

_All right. Let's end it here. I love Ellie. I can't. There's no Asgard, no Freya._

_My dearest Hyoga..._

Freya has a nice voice... The first time he heard her voice... he was enchained, wounded and aching, but still strong enough to recognize that he wasn't dreaming. That it wasn't a deja-vu, that he wasn't in the Blue Grado prison and that the girl who'd come to help him wasn't Natassia. It was an angel. The angel asked for his help. For her sister, for Asgard... And he could hear his heart beat faster. _Yes, I shall be your hero... I'll fight for you..._And while they together were going to the sea, towards Athena, his comrades, he'd let his fantasy run, dreaming of running away to be in love with her... Because Freya was so beautiful, so sweet... Freya, who had sided with him during his duel with Hagen. Hagen, her own love... _What were we battling for then?_ He knows the answer. _For her. _Freya, who cried over the God Warrior's lifeless body. He'd felt bad, because he wouldn't have liked to see her suffer. War is harsh. _Forgive me, Freya, forgive me. I want you to be mine...But now it's impossible... _But Freya didn't hate him. Not at all. _I know. I can tell it from the way you talk to me. I know what you feel, Freya. Let's just give ourselves some time to let our tears dry. And then... then we'll both be able to start over again together..._

But he couldn't wait. Because now there's Ellie in his life. And he loves her. _Forgive me, Freya. I must let you go. I'm serious with that girl. I don't want to throw it all away chasing a dream. I have Ellie by my side now. Just her._

_My dearest Hyoga,_

_I don't hear from you since a long time. I miss your letters, but I guess that being an Athena's Saint leaves few spare time for such frivolous things. Are you well? Here in Asgard things proceed as usual. We just feel somewhat more sad. But on the twenty-first day of this month we'll start a three day celebration for the seventh anniversary of my sister's ascent to the throne. I would be really delighted if you could join us. This way we could be together again and have some talk._

_Hugs,_

_Freya_

He reads it again. A few, gentle lines. Eyes of green, like the northern sea... _Just for a while...I'll be in Asgard just for a while...Maybe... I will feel nothing for her when she'll stand before me..._It seems the only thing to do. He couldn't avoid Freya forever. He must persuade himself that she means nothing. And it's an order from Saori... Ellie. He should call Ellie and invite her out for the evening. He hasn't skated in a long time and doesn't know how Saori conceived such a quaint idea. But he will bring Ellie along. _Because she's my girlfriend. _She's_ my girlfriend._

26

Now she's completely wet, but this doesn't make her feel better. She needs a hot bath. Then she'll have to think it over without giving room to emotions. They are all gathered in a salon waiting for the storm to end. Well, almost everyone. The second lines. The ones who didn't participate in the recent battles. The ones the Goddess pays no heed to. Yet doggedly dedicated. And there's Shun. His brother. _Sweet Satan, they're completely different... _And his girlfriend, or something like that. Chameleon June. Who's still looking at her balefully while idly scamming through a book.

"Shun, call the police, there are thieves in the house."  
She spoke softly, yet loud enough for her to hear. Flora balls her fists, digging her nails into her flesh. _Don't react,_ she thinks as her rage starts to build. _Don't taunt me, blondie. Not today._

"Hey, isn't that the shirt I lent to Ikki?"  
A cold shower. The speaker was the tall, dark one. Ban, if she recalls correctly. _So, this is it. This shirt is his. But I can feel Ikki's smell. It won't go away... _"I'll give it back to you in five minutes." _Right. Because as long as I wear it it's like if I had a neon sign over me saying "I bedded Ikki."_

"Don't worry. Keep it. It fits you so well." Ban winks at her. Her heart sinks further.

"Easy, Ban. Taking other people's stuff is a habit of hers."  
Something like a cramp tightens around her stomach. Her good intentions vanish in the air completely. _No, you had better not. _Her nerves are on the brink of collapse as she turns to face June directly. "Now I've had enough of you. That Cloth is mine! If you don't like it, come and try to take it from me! But I don't advice it!"

A malevolent glint in the girl's blue eyes. _So this is what you were waiting for. Suits me. _"Ok. Let's settle it now." June gets up from the couch.

_Perfect. This is what I need now. So I can take it out. Your loss._

27

He was holding her hand, but she pulled away when they entered. What did she feel then, seeing them together? _Remember Mu's words...You must give your love to them all. I'm really trying. Still Athena always had a favourite. Why can't I...? Why...? I know it perfectly...Because it's not Athena who feels broken now. It's Saori. Seiya...Can't you really see the woman in me? Did you forget? And it was just the springtime... then I already knew that you weren't going to be mine. I used to think that you were going to be with Miho forever...How silly... _Shaina, dressed as a civilian, jeans and black shirt, doesn't even look herself. The mask, the Cloth have disappeared and in front of her stands a twenty-first century girl. Seeing her thus makes her uneasy, because getting rid of her own symbols of war enables her to gain a new strength. A strength telling Seiya "Do you see? I could live with you, day after day... I'm not just a Saint. I'm a woman." She wishes she could hate her, but can't. Her total faithfulness puts her beyond it. She shouldn't hate such a brave and loyal person who put her own life on the line to save her. And Seiya, absolutely embarrassed, eyes downcast as if guilty of who knows what seems... _He loves her. I feel it. I know. And now they're one thing. This is right. And though I don't know why I know that they'll be together always. Always. _A strange sense of anguish. The shiver foreboding... what?... Athena's control over her thoughts. _Seiya... you'll die for me..._Now she knows. And she would like to scream. _You'll die for me...So be happy, until your time comes. Because you'll die for me..._

"Shaina... welcome..." Keep your control. This comes before everything. Perhaps, then, that horrible thought will vanish.

"My lady." Ophiucus lowers her eyes respectfully. "I know I left the Sanctuary without asking your permission but..."

Saori gestures at her, signalling that the matter is of no consequence to her. "There's no need for such formalities. Now we are at peace and the Gold saints are more than enough to guard the Sacred Land." _Right. Until the next war...war that will see you die for me... No, I won't let it happen, Seiya. I won't let you near the battlefield. I will stop you with all my strength... _"I know that you're staying at an inn. We have plenty of room if you wish..."

_You can't force destiny, Saori. _A voice. Childlike yet firm. It hammers in her ears.

"I thank you, but I'm happy this way..."

_Cat eyes...I can see what attracts him in you. What's more hazy is why he feels love for you._

_Destiny._

_Whose is this voice?_

_You're going to make the wheel of destiny spin._

She sees her, like a hologram superimposed upon her real image. Shaina. Cradling a baby. A girl... _Headache, headache, headache..._

"Are you feeling well, Saori?"

_Seiya... So worried...Of course. I'm fine. It's you who will die for me... _"Yes. I have a slight headache." A forced smile is all she can manage. "If you feel like it tonight we're all going skating... Just to pass the evening away..." The look exchanged between Seiya and Shaina is not lost on her. _We're at this. Words aren't necessary anymore._

"We'll think about it" Seiya replies. And she's certain that they'll prefer their own company. "We... should leave now..." He said it with something like fear.

Saori nods. _You'll die for me...? S_he follows them with her gaze as they make their exit, so distant from her. _Seiya_ is so distant from her. _I don't want you to die...I know that you'll die for me, but can't accept it...and she...if only I could see if it will be death or salvation coming from her...The baby she was cradling was yours, Seiya? _Anguish refuses to leave her. She's seen a shadow over Seiya's face and she wants nothing more that seeing it dissolve. _Athena protects mankind, cares about it, so why can't I protect _him_? I look after the human race...All peoples...I must extend to him, I must look after him, it's my duty, I have to, I'm the Goddess who defends men and women, Alexandra... _A little laugh inside her head. _Quit playing. Tell me who you are._

_I am you. Athena. Always you._

_It's true. You are me. And you'll give me the strength to save him, to change his fate, right? Because I'm a Goddess..._

No answer. She thinks it's normal. Because, surely, it was just a moment of low blood pressure. Nothing else. _Seiya is gone and I didn't take it well. That's all. Fine I don't think anything else could go wrong today..._

But Jabu's heated voice brings her quickly back to reality. "Come everybody! Flora is thrashing June!"

28

It's not the pain what surprises her. It's not the first time she loses since the time of her training. But she always fought on to the end. It's the expression in the eyes of that woman that scares her. Something unholy lives inside her. She's still hitting her, past the point of June's awareness of it. She can't even taste the blood in her mouth. She's wallowing in her hatred and that's the only concrete sensation she has grasp of. _How can she do it? It's like she was facing her worst enemy...If only I had my Cloth on... _Flora is without protection as well but seems uncaring about it. _I lost, _thinks June as a last flurry of blows brings her down.

"Stop!" Athena's unmistakeable voice. June raises herself on an elbow.

"Are you well?" Shun has come by her side. _So you have taken notice of me, didn't you?_

Athena looks so solemn... and her eyes... the gaze of a Goddess accustomed to command. Saori Kido changes totally anytime she remembers of her true role. "I don't want my Saints to brawl amidst themselves. June...What's going on?"

June doesn't lower her eyes. The only one capable of making her back down was her master Albior... "I merely wanted to verify whether the Cassiopeia Cloth belongs to her or not..."

Saori Kido's eyes bear down on her like daggers. "Does it mean that you're contesting my judgement?"

"No... of course no, but..." This time her face is downcast. Athena and her power...

"Why are you picking on her? She's right. I'm not one of you, remember."  
_Insolent._ Flora doesn't have a shred of respect for the Goddess. And yet Saori seems to have taken her under her wing.

"But you're still Cassiopeia, right?" Saori says so with the smirk of someone who knows things the other people ignore. And June could swear that the glance betweenthe Goddess and the strange warrior was noticed by everyone in the gym. There's something between those two that excludes everybody else. "Now go patch yourselves up...Should I catch you again fighting like bunch of truck drivers again I won't let it pass."

Shun helps her up. _Oh, joy... Shall we stay close for some moments? _June watches Flora's face. The furious expression she wore just a minute before is gone. _What's your mystery? From where do you draw your strength? _Yet she knows that there's just one way to get an answer.

29

She fell on the bed like dead weight. Adrenaline is leaving her body. Her muscles ache and now that the intensity of the fight has receded she realizes it. Little Chameleon fought well. She probably didn't expect her to do it seriously. Poor June... Despite everything she's starting to like her. She's got balls. Didn't let go until the end. Even as the loss had become clear she stubbornly kept getting up, again and again. Still the scuffle hasn't improved her mood. The floor is still covered with glass fragments. She'll have to ask a chambermaid to come and clean it up, despite the fact that until that day she did it on her own. The thought of a stranger wondering around her territory bothers her, but there's just too much glass. _It happened when our Cosmos me t together... _the heat of the flames proved too much for her mirrors. _Everything was excessive last night..._She closes her eyes searching for an image. Radamanthys, his face contorted tells her "I love you" and she knows that he's in her thrall. That's the only thing making her feel alive. The thought of dominating a Hades' Giant. Anything else she learned to take as a clause in their pact. Initially she prayed for him to finish quickly. With the years it stopped mattering. Every now and then it was even pleasant. But on the other hand the terms had been clear from the start.

"Once you'll be mine, I won't let any other man touch you."

"It doesn't matter. I'm not interested in men." She wanted power, the strength to kill Athena. She traded it with her body. "I'm not interested in men." That was true until the day Phoenix Ikki came. _Ikki... _For the first time in her life she experienced desire. A blazing clamp cutting off her breath. And once again she prayed every demon in Hell. Because this time she wanted it to last forever. A magnificent sculpture of muscles and sinews. Sinews, muscles and fire. _Ikki... will never be mine...This shirt is now in tatters... _The bed is still unmade. She asks herself how it will be to sleep among those sheets, still smelling like him. Because she doesn't want to change them. _I want to dream of you here...It's all I can do... Because I'll never find another... I don't deserve more..._Just twelve years. She'd been waiting for her occasion. She waited for Radamanthys to visit her father. She'd made her mind the moment blood had introduced her into adulthood. _Nobody's going to tell me that I'm just a kid anymore... I'm a better fighter than my brothers...And I have that thing...the Cosmo... I want the Cloth. I want to be so strong that Athena will pale with the fear. Radamanthys will teach me if I'll offer him something in return. After all, from today on I'm grown enough to have a man..._

_Ikki... You ran from me...You're right...I'm not worthy of a second chance...We'll meet again...It can't be helped...But I... I won't make you suffer my unhealthy presence again..._

"May I come in?"

_This is starting to wear me off. All those stories about Japanese formality and they're instead accustomed to entering without knocking...But she's not even Japanese..._

June has a sizeable Band-Aid on her left cheek, but looks after all better than she thought. "What happened here?" she asks walking on the fragments. Flora doesn't reply. "Shall I talk with you?" June lies down by her side as if they were old-time friends. Such a liberty would generally send her into a rage, but Flora thinks that she's kicked her ass enough for today. _Speak...It's a free country..._

June sighs exaggeratedly. "Could I know from where do you draw such energy during combat?"  
Flora grins. _If only you knew, kid..._

"You don't want to tell me?"

Flora turns to look at her. "Why are you so friendly all of a sudden?"

June closes her eyes. She has a melancholy expression unfitting her... "You beat me. And I don't wish to ask for a rematch."

She doesn't know June, not at all. But somehow she's sure that lowering her weapons is not among her habits. "What do you want, June?"

The other one remains silent. _Mirror, mirror...It would be easy to use a mirror and see what's going on inside her mind... No..._ According to Ikki, an unfair trick. June is an honourable opponent. She won't cheat with her. "Are you feeling well?"

June nods. "Yes...Shun is worried, but he's too apprehensive. I'm not that broken..."

Shun...Ikki's young brother. "You do seem to like each other."

"He's my best friend..."

"Nothing more?" Flora knows that there's something above it. It's clear to see. June loves him.

"No." June opens her eyes. "But he doesn't see it, or doesn't want to see. I showed him my face when it was still taboo. I kissed him as he was leaving for Japan. He just doesn't get it. Staying by his side is enough for me... Boys are strange."

_No, it's not this, June. He loves you. But he's sure to die in combat and doesn't want you to have ties with him... _Flora saw it looking at them. Shun, who looks so frail. She had watched him. She always thought him an enemy to respect. She knows of his tremendous power. That only his affectionate nature curbs in. a man with too many facets, Andromeda Shun. Too different from Ikki... "Give him time" she says.

June grins. "Now it's you the one who's softening. You're right. Perhaps time is what he needs...And he's here. He's not leaving anytime soon."  
Her own throat suddenly tenses. _Maybe it wasn't a dig... Maybe..._

"You're fallen in love with the wrong brother. Suits me, anyway."

_It's not your business. _"I'm not in love with anyone." _This is it. It's so. Absolutely no doubt._

"Are you really a skating champion?"

The tension is loosening. She doesn't know why, but talking to that girl is making her feel better. _Is this what two friends feel? _"It was a long time ago... I'm taking Saori out to buy clothes later. Care to come along?"

June snickers. "_You're taking _Saori out?"

_I could build something good with her. I can feel it although I don't understand it well._

"There was no other girl on Andromeda Island..." June says. And Flora realizes. She missed something, just like June did. This is why she came to her. The true reason.

"Great. Nobody took your eye pencil without permission."

"I never used eye pencil. Purposeless, under the mask. You think I should?"

_Of course. Better than remaining as closed as a porcupine. _"I could let you use mine. But you're fairy-haired. Some pale blue hue should fit you better." _What am I doing? I'm feeling better... _

"You're a source of wisdom..."  
"My... ex...always wanted me perfect. It's still a habit for me..."

"I always put on the first thing in reach in the morning."

_What are we talking about? About nothing. This is the fun in it. This what I needed. _Suddenly she's hungry. The knot in the pit of her stomach has loosened. _Thinking only of the here and now. Perhaps it worth living...With or without Ikki..._

30

Black velvet, a wide heavy gown, with a tight bodice, making her waist even more slender. A collar made of the same fabric around her throat, adorned with a solitaire, and linked to the neckline by four subtle strands of cloth. A woman's dress. _It suits me. Flora is right. It's classy yet sensual. _"It's sleeveless. Wear just a single bracelet..." It seems that Flora spent her entire life studying the best look for a woman. One day she'll ask her why. She didn't just buy the evening dress. "I don't want to subvert your personality" she told her. Beside the cream white mantle for the evening Saori let herself be persuaded to buy clothe sin every gradation of pink. A pastel pink dress for the afternoon, a fuchsia pink cardigan, a peach scarf. And a new pair of white trousers... "Trousers make me look horrible" she tried to protest. Flora threw her a scathing glance. "Nothing could make you horrible!" Then she launched herself in a new game; to change June's dresses from head to toe.

Shoes... sandals with silver strings to go with the pastel dress. Suede shoes with trousers and then a pair of black Chanels for the evening dress... "Tie up you hair. You look more adult. And don't exceed with the make up. Brighten your features, don't make them overwrought."

_For whom am I doing this? _For the all evening she tried to avoid asking it herself. Julian Solo and his tennis girlfriend. _What do I want to prove?_ For days she's been wondering why this matters to her so deeply. She always thought him an arrogant spoiled kid, a _narikin_, a glorified pirate. But she wants to see again adoration into his eyes. Just for the sake of spurning him again. Or maybe not. _I want to see him again...I don't know why but I want to see him again...He will have to say that he doesn't want me around anymore in my face... _Her fear of being alone, Seiya, leaving hand in hand with Shaina, Julian..._ He was mine. And I did everything to lose him... _She's never been short of stubbornness. She survived Tramy's dart, she stood for twelve hours in a polar blizzard, she burned her Cosmo to survive when her lungs were filled with water, she kept her spirit intact when the enchanted apple of Eris had drained her of all energy... _You won't break me, Julian Solo. I'm sorry, but if there will be a lowered head, it will be yours..._

31

Rain begun to fall lighter and finally ceased altogether. It felt strange to her walking arm in arm with him for the all day under a large umbrella. Happiness is something not definable. It's as if she had a magnet in her eyes, drawing her constantly towards hi. Seiya's face, Seiya's smile, the way he looks around, each detail carves into her mind like a perennial scar. _Mine. And now what's going to happen? What's the proper thing to do when your biggest dream comes true? _The sun is drying the streets up, yet the cold is increasing. There's a strange light on the marine surface. Sun rays are cutting through the grey mass giving it a golden hue. _Winter. How is winter in Japan?_

"Here we are. I live there." Seiya is pointing to a mansard upon which the dying light of day shines in full. Nothing like Kido Mansion. "If you come up I could give you a nice cup of hot chocolate. You look to be numb with cold."

_You're so sweet. I'm about to see you r little castle..._

"Don't expect anything like a villa... There's something like an entrance, a larger room serving as living room and bedroom, a kitchen like the seven dwarfs had and a bathroom... But the bed is comfortable..." Shaina locks eyes with him. He returns her gaze then blushes, starting to wave his hands agitatedly. "Hey... I didn't mean to... Sorry... Sorry..."  
_Seiya..._She spent years dreaming about him, trying to hate him in vain. Now they are one thing. "But really... when you told me that you wanted me to be your girl I thought this was part of the package..."

Seiya's face is something to behold. A child about to dive into a mammoth cream cake, but afraid of drowning in it.

"Who else should I do it with?" She's as placid as the water of that strange sea. "I'd only wish to know if... well... if you drunk hot chocolate with lots of girls."

He seems to reinvigorate, then shakes his head furiously. "No. Not at all. I... I mean... You can't have chocolate with any girl you meet. The taste just goes away. You have to wait...You have to wait for someone who shares your taste... There are many sort of chocolates... better look for the perfect blend..."

"Of course." Shaina throws her arms around his neck. "And what sort of chocolate do you think I am?"

"Dark and spiced, just like I like it."

_Dark and spiced, right... Like your lips, but every kiss of yours is unlike the others. _The day's dampness seems to evaporate from her skin. She's starting to realize why everybody talks so much about it. Because a kiss is not just mere physical contact. It's something that enflames you to your very soul.

"Seiya!"

Spells are so easily broken. Seiya's lips move away. She turns to see the girl who just said so desperately his name. She remembers her. _Indeed...She took care of Seiya when he was in the hospital. She took care of him when I only wanted to see him dead... _Suddenly she feels foolish. For months she's been fighting against the image of Saori Kido. And here comes another woman ready to claim property rights. _A woman...? No, a child with pigtails and woollen socks...Dark and spiced, right. And here pops up your common bar of mass-market milk chocolate ready to engage battle. _The girl says something in Japanese. She's demanding an explanation.

"It's not as you think..." Seiya tells her, sticking to Greek. As if that girl on the brink of crying wasn't there.

"Really?" At the moment she's feeling anew kind of fury. Something born out of the sudden awareness that she doesn't know the boy by her side at all. That she doesn't know who the warrior is once he leaves his armour down. _What am I doing here? It's his world but it could never be mine. _"You should have told me."

He lowers his eyes. "She's a friend of mine...It's over between me and her..."

_A friend of yours... Most assuredly... But you just admitted that this is not the case..._

"I want to be with you. Just with you..."

_It's cold here..._ "Seiya, you're behaving horribly. You're talking with me as if she didn't count, in a language she doesn't understand. And you should see the condition she's in. worry about her, rather than about what I'm thinking."  
"Ten minutes! Ten minutes to set everything straight!" He seems to be panicking. She never saw him like this.

Shaina looks at the girl again. She hasn't moved maybe she couldn't anymore. "I'm going back to the hotel. You've got things to do here..."

32

He knows that he should be kind to her, that he should find the right words to tell her that he cares for her. It's what Miho is waiting for... She's sitting on the pier clutching her red hands gazing into the water. She's so near, but it's as if she wasn't there. Because his mind is still with Shaina. He's totally agitated. He can't fathom what she's thinking at the moment. He wishes he could be with her now, to tell her that nothing has changed, that they're going to be together ever after. Instead he must tell Miho, his friend from a lifetime, that they're splitting. She won't forgive him. Not after what happened two days ago... He never cared so much for her as in that moment. Now that he's about to break her heart. _If only there was a way not to lose you entirely... But how am I supposed to tell you that you're like a sister to me?_

"Who's that girl?" Miho asks, her voice quivering. Seiya takes her hand but she pushes him away. "I asked you who she is!"

Seiya sighs. "It's a long story..."  
"I'm not in a hurry" replies Miho with a crooked smile.

_How angry, Miho... If only you could see... _"She's a Saint, just like me" Seiya states.

Miho giggles. "And this favours her. I'm just a common, normal girl..."

Seiya grabs her by the shoulders. "It's not this, Miho. The fact that Shaina is a warrior doesn't..."

Miho's eyes widen. "Shaina? The same Shaina who tried to kill you?"

Seiya looks away. "Yes..."

Miho's voice rises. "And how the hell can you trust her?"

Seiya shakes his head searching for words to explain himself. "It was just... a mistake."  
Miho grabs her head. "A mistake? Can't you see, Seiya? When your back will be turned she'll stab you with a knife..."  
"No. She won't. She loves me" Seiya says confidently.

"And you?" asks Miho, looking up at him. "I thought you liked me, a bit..."  
Seiya caresses her cheek. "Of course I like you, Miho. This is why I wish we could remain friends. But what I feel for Shaina is different. It's something I've felt from the first time I saw her in Athens, many years ago. A tenderness the like of which I haven't felt before... A sweet sensation that only her presence can give me..." He's said it. To himself, primarily. That little girl's green eyes... A fugitive bunny... That strange, mellowest of sensations that a ten years old is not able to understand, but which he will carry along forever...

"And tell me, did you feel these very things, oh so passionate, even when you were about to make love with me?" The rage in her voice is coming more and more to the fore.

_Yes, it's so...This is why I stopped... because I kept having her in mind... _But he can't tell it to her. It would be too much.

He doesn't turn to look at her when she gets up. "I hope that someday you'll experience what I'm going through now. I almost wish that that sort of amazon will hurt you. It's what you deserve. Damn. I love you, and you don't care!"

She's crying, he hears it in her voice. Her broken voice. And then footsteps as she leaves hurriedly... _I don't feel well... But... _He's never been so explicit about his feelings. Despite the fact that to draw conclusions he had to hurt Miho. _Some day she'll forgive me. She'll understand when she'll find someone else to love. But now... now I just want to reach Shaina..._

33

It was only yesterday, but the place looks different she asked the guardian a copy of the tape he played the evening before. She still thinks it's a totally idiotic thing. She and Saori are leaning upon the balcony.

"Why don't you entertain us with some evolutions? "Saori asks.

"Yesterday I skated enough. And I'm not your trained monkey." _I shouldn't have let him kiss me. Perhaps all this wouldn't have happened to me had I kept him at distance. _"Hey, June! Are you break-dancing?"

Chameleon Saint is putting on fancy postures, trying to stand on her feet. Perhaps is just an excuse to lean against Shun, who's faring quite well, but Flora can't be sure of it. June flips her the bird. Flora laughs, then returns to caring for Hyoga and his partner. Ellie... They barely exchanged looks. Cassiopeia Saint and the Goddess of Discord. She knows that the blonde girl will never forget. And that, from her point of view, she's responsible for it. For what happened. Flora knows that she's right, but she's got nothing to tell her. They're very different. Because Ellie is innocent. Hyoga circles her as she laughs. Hyoga...

"Come on! It's easy!" he incites his partner.

"Hyoga, don't play the fool with me, I can't stand on these things!" shrieks Ellie as Hyoga lifts her in his arms, and Flora wonders if the girl realized that she answered in Greek.

"Let's go around the strip..." Hyoga, girl in his arms, takes control over the rink.

"I want you to stay, Flora. I'm not one who begs but with you I could make an exception." Saori's voice, close yet distant. She can't take her eyes off Hyoga. "Are you listening to me, Flora?"

_Of course, yes, of course, you want me to stay, but right now I don't feel like talking about it... Because Hyoga... Hyoga... _"He's not moving badly at all."Her mind is starting to work on its own. _Really, he lacks the basis, but he's strong and has a good equilibrium... If..._

"Flora, who are you talking about?"

She turns towards Saori. _It's crazy...It's crazy but... _"About Hyoga. I like the way he skates."

It's just a second, but Flora has learned the meaning of that look of Saori's. "Would you like to have him as a partner?"

_Yes... it's possible..._"No. absurd. I should train him from scratch and..."

"Let me be your sponsor!" A shrewd smile dances non Saori's features. "Choose a trainer, a choreographer, anything you need. Choose the best. Someone capable of turning Hyoga into a champion. I want you up and running for February. And on the podium."  
She would like to tell her once again that she's crazy, but her heart is beating too fast. Because she believes in it. _What could I lose? Excepting dignity, it's clear... and perhaps somewhere Sergej will see me and be proud...once in my life... _"Hey, wait a moment." The return to reality is quite brusque. "Don't you think that we should hear Hyoga, before that?"

Saori smirks again. "You have yet to realize who's in charge here..." A wave of her hand's enough for Hyoga, still holding Ellie in his arms, to come close to the edge of the rink.

"Tell me, Miss Saori..."

"Hyoga, your life's about to change!" Saori says solemnly. Hyoga looks at her perplexedly, while she feels like laughing with joy.

34

Her head is spinning. It feels like finding oneself suddenly in Fairyland. She sat at the same table with Saori Kido, visited the house of Saori Kido, has returned home accompanied by the driver of Saori Kido. Hyoga's room... _Wonderful! _He's accustomed to that lifestyle. _Instead I brought him in my tiny room... _But she knows it doesn't matter. She pretended that it was her first wedding night in a castle... a castle on the banks of a European river... It was nice, much better than the first time. They both were more self-confident. And no mysterious 'Freya' slipped between them this time.

"It's a nice evening" she'd told him, holding him tightly. _Maybe... maybe I will not lose you... maybe you'll choose me..._

"Ellie... I think this figure skating thing is complete baloney. Saori is out of her mind." He looked scared to her. He didn't look like that even when he was fighting Southern Cross Saint... She tried not to think about it, to stifle any thought that could bring her back to Eris.

"Do it, Hyoga, please. You'd be wonderful in one of those fancy shirts."

He grimaced. "We'll discuss it again the next week. You know... Tomorrow I'm leaving on... on some kind of official mission." She doesn't know why but her heart skips a beat. "I'll be away for a couple of days..."

"It's ok" she told him. _You'll be back, right? You'll be back to me._

She had wished to fall asleep in his arms, but she's not the full master of her own existence. When she enters her room it's almost three. She turns her bed light on, hoping not to disturb Miho. But the other girl turns to her.

"Excuse me. I didn't mean to disturb..."  
"I was already awake" she replies blankly.

Ellie starts to loosen her hair. It takes some half an hour to tie them up. "Why don't you let them flow?" Hyoga had asked her. He doesn't know how irksome they can be. She has quite a mane, wild and wavy, tending to go in all directions.

"Why weren't you and Seiya there? We had a lot of fun. I didn't even fall. Hyoga skates very well. Miss Kido proposed him to enter the next World Championship, go figure! Then we went to a restaurant, very very chic. And Jabu...Jabu begun telling dirty jokes. He's got something, that boy..." She opts for keeping the remainder of the evening to herself.

"I'm glad for you..." Miho's answer freezes her, because it's been said with voice broken by tears. _Yes, she's crying..._

Ellie stops working with the hairpins and kneels by Miho's bed. "What happened?"

Her face is red. She's probably being crying for hours. "Seiya has dumped me." She's sure she heard right. But she thinks it's absurd. Until two days ago they had looked so united. For months Miho has done nothing but talking her about him, about how they fitted one another...And now that she's finally known this notorious Seiya and his comrades... falling in love with one of them... the magnificent picture of the situation, as painted by Miho, breaks into pieces. "He's found another one. Hadn't I caught them kissing he probably wouldn't even have felt the necessity to inform me..."  
Ellie caresses her hair. "Are you sure of what you're saying? Maybe is just a pointless flirt... You'll see that..."

"He's told me he's in love! With her! Damn, I'm sure that she's older than him... She's a woman, not a girl like me... She's like him... A warrior... He had told me of this bird... He said that she wanted to kill him... Things change, don't they? I used to think of her as some kind of ogre who wanted to hurt my Seiya... but... that witch is also beautiful! And he comes to me, saying that he loves her! I feel a mess, Ellie!"

_There has to be a mistake, _thinks Ellie. _It can't be, boys can't turn the back on you for the first one they comes across... It's not right..._

"But I will not surrender, Ellie... I sent Makoto out to discover where that snake lives. It took him less than two hours. Tomorrow I'll go there to teach her a lesson..."

_She will go into trouble for no purpose... _"Don't be hasty, Miho!"

"What do you know?" For a moment Ellie thinks that her friend is looking at her venomously. "You've always been prettier than me. No boy will ever come to you telling that he likes a Greek harpy with black-painted nails better..."

_Freya... The way he spoke her name...I know, Miho...And soon it will be you trying to soothe me up... _Ellie drives the thought away. _There is no Freya. Hyoga is mine. _"Miho, promise me that you will no go alone. I'll come with you, got it? Promise me that we'll go together. Promise me!" Miho nods and Ellie is sincerely relieved. "Now sleep. You can't see that woman with shadows under your eyes..." Ellie tucks her up in bed. Feeling somewhat funny. She hopes that after a sound sleep Miho will wake with a clear head and less pugnacious plans. _It would be counter-productive, Miho... _Then she returns to work on her hair.

35

He closes his eyes, concentrating. She refuses to see him. He couldn't talk with her. The porter refused to let him go up to her room. He could have used the name Kido as pass, but he didn't and now he's repenting it. Part of him is angry with Miho, who appeared at the wrong moment and spoilt everything. But, in fact, he knows that she's not guilty at all. As a matter of fact she's just another victim of his foolishness. He's looking for Shaina... Shaina... His mind drifts. He's looking out to make contact. Then, he feels it. Her Cosmo, as powerful and lethal as a snake bite. _Shaina..._

_Leave me alone, Seiya. I don't want to talk with you. Not tonight._

_I just wanted to tell you that it's all over. I'm through with Miho..._

_Miho... Is this her name? It won't do, Seiya. Do you think I'm glad that there's a girl crying, and it's my fault?_

_Don't be like this... It's not your fault. It's nobody's fault..._

_Perhaps, but I don't know what to do..._

_Don't go away..._

_No, I'm not going away..._

_On your honour?_

_Don't be a child, Seiya..._

_Do you love me? Tell me that you love me..._

Silence. The tie has broken. _I won't let you go. I won't let you go, Shaina. It took me too long to realize, Shaina, Miho, Saori... They all ran around in my head like dolls of a musical box... Just one... Just one of them can lead me to a dance... I realized that it's you. You and just you..._

INTERLUDE

Freya's gaze never leaves the hand-loom while the man is speaking. A wedding... The last news from the palace. But so far as she knows, no formal proposal has been sent to Asgard-By-The-Sea. Dolvar is planning something. Something that causes her goose skin. The High Priest of Odin, her eldest brother, the man who raised her. In the last years Freya has ceased trusting him. In his presence she feels more and more uncomfortable. She's afraid. Afraid that Dolvar could discover what's happening inside her. A warm, golden energy enveloping her soul. It talks to her, without a voice, when she's asleep. It's the full awareness of herself, reawakening. _Freya...The Goddess of Love... It's who you are... who' you've been ever since you birth..._

"Keep me informed" she tells to the tall, red-bearded man. "I want you to follow every step of the High Priest. But be very careful. Should you be discovered..."  
"If I were discovered I'd die rather than say your name, my Lady!"

Freya smiles. _No. I don't want anybody to die for me..._

The entry gate of the villa under the mountain is being opened. The staff's voices, her brother's laughter. "Now go. I don't want Lord Frey to find you here."  
The man bows, then slips out from a secondary door. Freya's gaze returns to the loom. Soon the marriage of Balder and Idun will appear. Perhaps different hues of light blue strands will give expression to the Sun God's eyes.

"You'll never guess what happened at the court, Freya." Her brother's grin is radiant.

"Good evening, brother" she replies, trying to rein his enthusiasm in. They don't resemble each other, despite their being twins. Frey has sharper features and his hair are a darker shade of blond, and slightly wavy. Instead, hers are flaxen and curly, so curly that she renounced to let them grow. Much to Frey's chagrin she keeps them very short and has no intention to change. She and Frey don't even have similar eyes. Deep blue her brother's, azure and translucent her own. And Frey is tall. Not like Dolvar, but almost. _I'm a midget compared with him... _This is why she always felt safe in his company. But now it's different. Because she doesn't trust Dolvar anymore. Dolvar, whom Frey adores.

"How has the dinner at the palace like?" she asks. In truth she knows it perfectly. For months Dolvar hasn't taken a step without her knowing it.

"You should come the next time. The High Priest inquired about you. I believe that he expects some courteous gesture from you. Myself, I don't understand your aloofness, sister... But you couldn't fathom what happened. The High Priest Dolvar is about to marry!"

Freya asks herself whether it's fit to show surprise or not. "You're free to tell the High Priest that the next time I'll be glad to partake of his hospitality."  
"Did you hear what I said? He'll be married!"

Poor Frey. He looks a bit chastened by her lack of enthusiasm. "I heard you. Fill me in with the details, brother."  
Frey finally decides to settle on a chair. "I don't have many. It seems that we're going to have another sister called Freya. The Princess of Asgard-By-The-Sea. Do you remember her?"

Freya nods. "indeed I saw her at the Procession of the Lost Ones, last year." The northern people has few feasts. The Procession of the Lost Ones reminds them every three years of Ragnarok, still pending upon their heads. Representatives of the populations who don't see the sun are present. Asgard, Asgard-By-The-Sea, Blue Grado and sometimes Avalon... They pray, they cry and they get drunk. Their tears change into carousing. Freya the Princess. Gentle looking creature. But nobody asked her hand. "Strange..." she ponders.

"What?" asks Frey.

_Nothing. You wouldn't understand. Polaris Hilda is in a critical situation and is selling out her sister in return for our assistance? No. Polaris Hilda knows nothing. It's Dolvar. Dolvar is planning something obscene. _"When it's going to be?" she asks.

Frey lifts his shoulders. "Soon. but I don't know exactly when."

_Soon. There's not much time, then. Freya the Princess. I pray that you'll never have to set foot in this place about to be swallowed by darkness..._

36

The alarm hasn't rang yet but she opened her eyes anyway. A strange shiver awoke her. It's just half past seven, but Miho's bed is empty. She doesn't need to think. She gets up and puts the first dress handy on. She brushes ineffectively her hair and runs to the children's dormitory. They're barely awake and their voices sound still sleepy. They're talking about breakfast, homework and many other things. Makoto is bragging about his latest football exploit. Ellie takes him by an arm.

"Where is Miho?" she asks. She faintly realizes that her voice is resembling a snarl. Makoto's eyes open in surprise. The other kids fall silent as well. "Tell me!"

"Well..." the child's voice becomes a whisper. "She told me not to tell you."

Her heart starts to race frenetically and painfully. Her temples pulsate as if about to explode. Rage. Her hand squeezes the youngster's arm. Her teeth clench and again that voice comes out of her throat. "Speak, or I'll make you spit blood!"

In a moment, the child bursts into tears. Her grip weakens. Ellie brings a hand to her mouth as if trying to put that phrase back into her body. _I can't have told it...It wasn't me..._

"What's happening?" She barely registers that the Father has arrived and that now Makoto is clinging to him. "What's happening?" the man repeats.

"Sensei Ellie... has sparkling eyes..." Makoto replies.

She starts to shake. "I'm sorry... Sorry... Forgive me, Makoto... I didn't mean to..." She takes a step in his direction but the child hugs the Father even more tightly.

"Are you feeling well, Ellie?" asks the man.

_No... Tainted...Eris...I'm tainted... She'll never leave...Never..._ "Yes... I'm sorry... I... Have to find Miho... Forgive me!"

She runs out without listening anymore. She doesn't wish to think about Eris. The more she thinks of her, the more she becomes real. _I made a child cry. And then...Yesterday...I was talking to him in Greek... Hyoga...I pretended it didn't happened but I replied to him in Greek. _Then she refocuses on Miho. She knows that she's her priority now.

37

The sun is pale in Japan. This is why he's asking himself what's the point of laying on a beach in Okinawa instead of making a quick route to Death Queen Island and its corroborating torrid air. He's found so far a few tolerable answers. First, he couldn't take his brand new bike along and, as it's still being run-in, he's understandably reluctant. Second... _Shit, what was the second excuse?_ Bike or not, he has to leave. _But maybe...I'd better retrieve my Cloth... But... Ok, just a quick glance and I'll go away... Away from all this jiving around._ He takes a deep breath, then projects his thoughts to a specific point. _There you are..._ That strange, unlikely mental tie keeps them on the same wavelength. He's sure that what went on between them did nothing but strengthen that bond. He can see her... She's having breakfast and at the same time is writing... She smiles... relaxed... she's wearing a white woollen jersey and... _I'm not in her mind...This means that...that she doesn't hold against me that I left... But who's there with her? Hyoga...? What the...?He's kissing her...The son of a bitch is kissing her! _Now there's only the leaden sky He's trying to calm his breath but it's difficult. _It's impossible...She already found a replacement. What kind of a woman is she? _Frost. In the bones, the muscles, in the head. He gets up without even stopping to brush the sand off his clothes. Determined to go as far away as he can. _Yes, as far as I can from those evil, cheating black eyes..._

38

"_Kak pozhivàete?_" Hyoga said sitting by her side. She looked at him intensively, ecstatic to hear her mother tongue again.

_I almost forgot that you're a son of Mother Russia as well... _"_Normalno_" she replied, putting some butter on a slice of bread...

"What are you writing?" Hyoga asks, after drinking two litres of coffee.

"I'm doing a small computation. How many good trainers, who aren't drunkards, depress, junkies or with a broken back are at the moment free and available to prepare an exhibition with a beginner and an athlete out of form in two months to compete in the Tokyo World Championship, and the answer is... zero."

"Listen... Do you think it's logical? Just because I don't fall on my ass, it doesn't mean that I can skate."  
Flora feels like reassuring him. "Hyoga, if you move like when you launch the Diamond Dust I think there will be no problem." This time Cygnus blushes. "Leave it to me. I'll turn you into the new Sergej Ponomarenko."  
"Who?"

Flora smirks. _Never mind. And I'm not Marina Klimova anyway._

"I wanted to tell you that I'm leaving tonight. So we could start next Monday and... Do I have to touch you?"  
Flora is in a wonderful mood this morning. And she changed her bed sheets. And cleaned her room completely. It took her the whole night to gather all the glass shards. But now she's satisfied, and doesn't even feel tired. "It's a recital, Hyoga. We must appear in love, do you see it? And... Yes, you have to touch me. Pretend that I'm Ellie, if it makes things easier..."  
He seems to relax. _It could work. But we don't have a trainer..._ A strange shiver. A weight on the chest, the unmistakeable feeling of a psychic invasion..._ It's you? Why are you spying on me_? _Your warm and powerful Cosmo...Get away. You have no right._

"What's happening?" asks Hyoga. Clearly he also perceives this eerie presence.

"Would you do me a favour?"

"Tell me."  
"Kiss me."

Hyoga's perplexed gaze is funny. But he doesn't reply. He gets closer to her face and lightly touches her lips. The foreign Cosmo seems to vanish in the air. "It was Ikki, right?" Hyoga asks.

"So I think." Her mood sinks. _How can he have such an impact on me? And why is he spying on me?_

"What's going on between you two?" Hyoga puts on a mature air that is new to her. He's not hunting for gossip, but she has no answers to give. "I heard voices..." he trails on. She barely looks at him. "After you arrived Ikki looked changed. It seems..."

"It seems what?" Flora pours herself some more coffee, although she would rather prefer vodka...

"The dotard" sums up Hyoga. _Dotard indeed... _"We thought he was going to stay, this time. Because... because we thought he had a crush on you. You wanted to make him jealous, a few moments ago. This is why you asked me to kiss you..."  
"There's nothing between me and Ikki. We're not even friends." _We just had sex. That's it, after all. Nothing more. Any other crazy idea must vanish from my head. _"But all this teaches us something." Hyoga looks at her, expecting some sort of revelation. "There will never be everything between you and me. Kisses never lie."  
He nods. "Right. Nothing has clicked... That's for the better, isn't it?"  
"Of course." Flora returns her attention to the list. Evgeni Ljubojevic... He was the best five years before. She remembers him. He left the competitions when cancer took his wife away. It is said that he now lives only for the bottle. _If only it could be possible... He trained the giants...His choreographies had something magical...If only he could be brought back..._She must stop Saori before she leaves for Greece in her quest for Julian Solo. 'Cause she wants her to find Evgeni Ljubojevic, the only man who could turn Hyoga into a star.

39

Seiya is still drowsy as he opens the door for her. He massages his eyes, and then the person in front of him comes into focus. "Ellie...? What time is it?"  
"Eight. Where is that woman?" She opted for not pulling it. _We look like barbarians._ He's just come out of lethargy.

"Eight o'clock? Are you gone mad? What woman?"  
"The woman you dumped Miho for! Miho went after her! Tell me where she is, before that woman does something to her!" She wants to rip his eyes off. Because now he's completely awake and looks terrorized. But Ellie realizes that it's not for Miho he's afraid for.

"What...? Miho! What does she want to do? What the hell is she going to tell Shaina?"

_Creepy bastard..._ "Listen, have you got an idea of the idiocy of what you say? Miho is about to be swallowed by a tiger and you don't care? You only care for that one? What sort of a man you are? Do you know that you've broken her heart?"  
Seiya looks puzzled but only briefly. He regains control and points a finger at her. "Listen, you! How dare you? You know nothing! Miho is a friend of mine. I never gave her to believe that there was more!"  
"What cheek... Do you French kiss all your friends?" Seiya is silenced. _I'd like to kill you. _The boy re-enters the apartment. When he returns on the doorstep he's completely dressed.

"Let's go..." Ellie has non time to speak. Seiya lifts her in his arms. _It's compulsive, then..._

"What you're gonna do now?"  
"We're going to run a bit. Hold me tight and take a deep breath..."

_What? They're crazy! All of them! _She grabs the boy's neck, terrorized. _They come from another world... Seiya...Hyoga...He knows everything about Hyoga... Perhaps I could ask him... _"Seiya, who is Freya?"

He rolls his eyes. "What's the matter about Freya, now?"  
"Who is she?"

"Freya... is the Princess of Asgard, a small independent kingdom inside Norway. Why?"  
_Great. A Viking princess. _"Nothing. Just curious. Go on."

She barely registers what happens around her. Frosty air whips her face. Breathing is difficult, a pesky whistle penetrates her ears. _Is this the speed of Athena's Saints? I could do better, if I wish to... I'm a Goddess and you, little bastard, beat me..._She feels like crying as she repels the thought. Because Eris is gone. She _has _to be gone.

40

She stands in front of him and in his head a flock of contrasting feelings have started to clash. First it was rage. Because Saori in playing dirty. He's sure that everything has been arranged by her. But such a feeling is not spontaneous to him and it immediately left its place to the sense of peacefulness that always possesses him every time he lays eyes on the girl. They haven't seen each other in more than a month. He left Rozan in a hurry as soon as Rooshi informed him of Eris' new birth. He didn't even had the time to kiss her. Now he can make amends.

"Shunrei..." he says, as if saying her name would make her presence more palpable. "Come in." Shiryu closes the door, eyes still glued to the girl. _My gorgeous porcelain doll, my golden scale, the Dragon's treasure..._He knows why she's there. She wants to take him home. Because of his eyes. Athena's ultimate weapon.

Shunrei opens the window. "You need the light" she tells him.

He must tell her that he has go no intention of returning to Rozan now. Before she asks it to him in her so sweet way... "You shouldn't have come. It's for my eyes, isn't it?"

She looks out of the window. _That's better. So I won't have to look you in the face. _"Miss Saori is worrying for you. She thinks you should rest for a while in Goro-Ho."

"And what do you think, Shunrei?" She stands still, not answering. "Do you really think it would be enough to heal me?" _My _kogyaru... _Why do I always make you worry?_ "You lost weight" he says. Her all figure appears slighter, despite that only few time has gone by...

"I always lose a few pounds when you leave for war. And now you also risk that a strong blow would make you lose your eyesight again..."

_I know. It's a risk I have to take. You've always known what role was mine. _He doesn't have the heart to tell it to her. Shunrei's viewpoint in a way quite limited. She doesn't partake of Athena's greatness. Still her thoughts as so clear...

As she turns to him her eyes are very determined. "I want to marry you, Shiryu."

_Of course. Why not? Let's do it now. _"Are you serious?"

"What a silly question..."  
"Pardon me."

Shunrei sighs. "I think it's necessary..."

His heart starts to drum. "Are you...?"

She looks at him surprised, then draws out a half smile. "No. I'm not pregnant. You have a nice panicked expression..."

Shiryu's breath returns regular. _I love you, darling... _"Of course I'll marry you, Shunrei. In a year or two. When there will be no more menaces against Athena..."

She shakes her head. "Even you don't believe it. You know that you'll always have new battles ahead. But I... I feel like dying every time you put that Cloth on. I know I may appear egoistical. There's nothing I can do about it. Do you remember how you felt the day you faced Ohko? Do you want it to happen again?"  
_I remember...I remember it very clearly...I was afraid that the darkness would never vanish. But I had you...I could fondle and hold you...My hands had become my eyes...I could see you with my hands._ Shiryu goes near to her. He never told her how important she is to him. He knows how hard it is to be the woman of a Saint.

"Do you like my hair?" she asks him, untying her long dark braid.

_Onyx satin_. _I love you. I love you _kogyaru... Shiryu stretches his fingers out to her, but Shunrei steps back.

"Don't touch them. Just look at them."

"Evil, evil..." He got the point. She's showing him what he could lose... It's more than he could bear. "Give me some time... Until next summer. I'm asking you only a few months. Let me prove to myself that I can still serve Athena. Then I'll come back to you. I promise, Shunrei." He realizes that she's on the verge of tears, and it hurts him.

"A few months could prove too many, Shiryu..." He knows that she's right. But it's his decision. She dries her eyes. "So be it. We'll do as you say. The summer is not that distant."

This time she allows him to hug her. _Yes, your hair are wonderful...And I won't ever make you feel bad...It's a promise._

41

She tried to persuade the reception girl to let her up. _Damn discretion... _She told her that their guests didn't include Greek girls and that there was nobody called Shaina anyway. _Who is she, then? _Miho would have liked to scream when the girl passed the door in a grey sweater, hair tied and a sheen of sweat on the skin... She wanted to catch her barely awake... Generally it's the time when women are at their worst. Instead the witch has already gone jogging.

"I must talk to you" she told her, brushing up her school English.

The other fixed her with her absurd cat eyes. "Ok" she replied.

Miho followed her to her room, ready to kick her ass. _She's young. Yesterday I thought she was older. What strange eyes...What a determined air...I can see how you made a puppet out of Seiya. You're some kind of vamp..._

Shaina herself breaks the silence, and Miho thinks she's hearing fear in her voice. "Listen... I didn't knew that he was your boyfriend. Really. I don't wish to be a man-stealer... so..."  
She almost starts to laugh. "You mean that you're giving him to me?"

The other one bites her lips. _You're already making an U-turn, right? _"It's just that... I don't want another woman to suffer because of me."

_Thank you so much..._Miho looks around. The girl is a Saint, but... "Why don't you stay at Kido Mansion?"

"I don't want debts with Saori..." Shaina replies.

_Sure...Against Saori Kido you wouldn't win that easily, isn't it so? I also fear her...But you... _"Whore." She said it without thinking. So much the better. Better to be direct. She knows exactly what it's about. "You took him into your bed, right? Is it so? This is why he cares so much for you... This is the big advantage you have over me!"

Shaina's expression is of absolute surprise. _Don't play the innocent. I'm not falling for it! _She reaches out to slap her face. _At least I'll have this satisfaction. _But the other one blocks her. "You may be a warrior. But I've been in several brawls and I never lost. Beware!"  
Shaina shakes her head, looking annoyed. "This is ridiculous... Be quiet or you'll be hurt."  
_No, I won't cry...Not now. But there's one thing I need to know. _"Do you love him?"  
"Yes." She didn't hesitate a second.

"Me too." _I must not cry! _"Please... Go back where you came from." _I want everything to be as it was. I want Seiya back..._

"Don't be angry with me, Miho. I can't. I need Seiya..."  
_You...You need Seiya...? What about me...? _

"Excuse me..." says Shaina as someone knocks at the door.

Miho wants to disappear, faced with Ellie and Seiya's worried expressions. But what really hurts her is the sight of Seiya taking Shaina's face in his hands... She tells her something in Greek in a voice so sweet and caring that Miho wants to cry.

"Are you well?" Ellie asks her.

Miho nods. _So you're witness of my defeat. _"What are you doing here?" she asks.

"I worried for you. She didn't hurt you, right?"  
"No." _No, she didn't hurt me. I'd love to kill her. _As docile as a puppy Miho lets herself be lead by Ellie to the door.

"Seiya, we're leaving..." says the girl. He seems to emerge from some kind of trance. He barely nods to her, then returns his attention to Shaina, as if she was the most precious thing on earth.

_I lost him. I lost my boyfriend and there's nothing to do about it._

42

She seems to be angry with him, and he doesn't know why. The green of her eyes has become glass cold... _What did she tell you? Why are you looking at me like that? _

"Seiya, why didn't you tell me that you had someone?"  
_Here is it... It's time... _"I have no relationship with Miho. It's a strong friendship with some deeper shades..." He's feeling a coward now and he's not sure that his description of his ties with Miho is correct...

"Do you mean that you spent time with her because you didn't have anyone better at end?"

Harsh words, but spot on. Miho was there. He dated her while dreaming of Saori. He dating her and loved Shaina. Still he dated her, and this had nothing to do with the other two... Only now he realizes how insensible it was.

"You hurt her. She insulted me. She treated me as if I was a harlot and then asked me to leave you... And know what? I understood exactly the way she felt..."  
Seiya says nothing. He's irritated with Miho but couldn't cal her wrong. _She should take it out with me, not with her. She's got nothing to do with it._

"Do you remember when, last spring, Jamian tried to kidnap Saori?" Seiya nods. Could he possibly forget? It was the one and only night when his feelings for Saori bordered on love. And he knows exactly what Shaina is aiming at. "That night you were holding Athena in your arms. You seemed completely taken and I... I was dying inside... I wanted to kill her. Neither because she was a foe, nor because the High Priest had so commanded, but for the way you were looking at her."  
_Good. We would have had to discuss it anyway, sooner or later. But now I don't want t. It's gone past. Trust me, it's over. _"Weren't we talking about Miho?"  
She takes his hands and her gaze mellows. "Seiya... Tell me now. Do I have to expect other surprises?"

He shakes his head. _None at all. Nobody else but you. Please, trust me... _"No. Can I ask you to believe in me?"

Shaina lowers her eyes. "I'm aching for combat. Do you know a place where we could work out?"  
"Sure. The gym of Kido Mansion." He's not sure why, but feels that this was a good proposal. They'll both feel better afterwards. Toxins will be expelled from their bodies and souls. All bad thoughts will be banned, along with the memory of that night. The night he wished he could fly away with Saori....

43

The engines are already on. Saori is acutely agitated. She'd like to silence Tatsumi, but the man is too stymied because she decided to leave him at home and opted to be accompanied by Jabu. She needs a partner, not a chaperon. And Jabu is mad about her enough to treat her in front of Julian Solo as if she was the most charming woman in the world.

"Tatsumi, I have to go..." The pilots are ready. Jabu is on board. Only Flora and Tatsumi came to greet her as she leaves... Flora told her a couple of things about some Russian trainer, filling her speech with technical lingo, making it quite unintelligible to her. However, she promised her that the Foundation will give her everything she wants.

"Try to drink less" Saori told her. She doesn't believe it could possibly be a Russian custom, anyway Hyoga doesn't follow it, but Flora drinks vodka during her meals, uncaring of her liver.

"Good luck. Seduce him, but don't be seduced" Flora had replied. _There's no danger of it. I'm in control. I just have to get rid of Tatsumi..._

"I'm not done, my lady. My duty is to watch over you, and you're hampering me. I'm sure that Slavic woman is to blame. She has a censorable influence on you. I couldn't even think what she put into your head." Tatsumi is unmindful that said Slavic woman is a yard away from him and takes sly advantage of the fact that she doesn't speak Japanese.

"Silence, Tatsumi. Make sure that Hyoga leaves for Asgard. And treat Flora respectfully, am I making myself clear? She's a friend of mine..."  
Tatsumi rolls his eyes. "A friend... She drinks like a fisherman, smokes illegal substances and talked you into wearing black... And if this was not enough... God, I can't even think about what she probably did with that loathsome rebel... No, she's not a friend for you, my lady..."

Saori sighs. "I have to go, Tatsumi. Please, take care of everything." She doesn't let him say more. She gestures hello to Flora, who barely returns the greeting and boards the plane. _Julian Solo, beware. Here I come..._

FADE OUT AND CONNECTION

He's not easily taken by emotions, but tonight Dolvar can't contain himself. _It will be soon_, he thinks taking off his priestly tiara. In his rooms he returns himself. He has a warrior's soul, not a priest's. The daily invocations to Odin have become but an empty formality, aimed at keeping his people quiet. In truth, he wants war. The clash of swords, the cries of the dying, rivers of blood and final triumph. All this will be his as soon as Loki will deliver his bride-to-be to him.

"Your lackey has already left, I assume."

Dolvar starts. He hates to be taken by surprise. He's there, lying on a comfy chair, in leather pants and pointed low boots like some old fashioned rock star. The Hell messenger arrives unannounced, as silent as a preying cat. His name is Valentine and Dolvar has struck a deal with him... Right after Hilda's demise. This is how he arrived the first time also. Without waiting an invitation, as any well-mannered vampire should do. But he's no vampire. He's a Harpy demon or so he said. "We need a representative in the world" he had explained. "I'm talking on behalf of His Highness Hades. You'll rule over the kingdom of Polaris Hilda, of course. But I don't think you're a man of such limited aspirations. What I'm offering is... the sun. The southern territories, absolute power over the Athens Sanctuary. In return we just want the life of Goddess Athena. You can do it, I assume." Athena's life... The existence of that Greek girl is indifferent to him. The deal looked advantageous.

"The Princess will soon be here. Once Hilda will be done, I'll move against Athens" Dolvar reassures him.

"Good. Who knows... Maybe it won't be even necessary to move. My sources informed me that the divine Pallas will be among the guests at the feast in Asgard..."

"Asgard-By-The-Sea" Dolvar points out.

Valentine sighs. "Doesn't matter. Soon there will be but one Asgard, right? This is your goal, even though to attain it you'll have to commit deicide and drown your own people in blood."

"You asked for it." Dolvar takes off his robe. He wants that man to get out of his sight. He needs to think. If Athena is really at the palace of Hilda she could prove a problem. The girl is powerful and he couldn't deprive his own city of the God Warriors. He can only hope that Athena didn't bring her Saints along. And try to take her by surprise. Loki has to be informed.

"I'm only wondering if you'll really prove able to do such a thing, seeing how you don't even notice the mice hidden into your room..."

Dolvar doesn't have time to reply. Valentine stands up and draws away a heavy red curtain hiding the entrance to his study. For an instant the Priest watches uncomprehending the red bearded man. "A spy..." he says.

Valentine laughs. "A spy indeed. And a frightened spy, at that, judging from his expression... But not spying for Athena, right? These are your emblems, Dolvar."  
The Priest watches him. Yes, he's Asgardian. The royal coat of arms is on the chest of his armour. "Speak. Whom are you working for?"  
The spy seems to regain himself. With a cry he hurls himself at the window. The impact shatters the glass.

"He's a madman... Throwing himself out from this height..." Dolvar goes by the broken window. There's only the deepest darkness outside.

"He's still alive" Valentine notices. "He's protected by a God, don't you realize it?"

"A God?" Dolvar finds it hard to understand. The man is from Asgard. And the only man under Odin's protection is the Priest, and that's him.

"With a bit of effort you'll certainly solve this Arcanum" Valentine persists. "Just send your man looking for him. I want his head before tomorrow morning."

_Yes, yes...it's the only thing to do... A God?_ The solution comes, sudden and simple. _Freya._

__

_- - -_

He doesn't feel the icy wind as he goes eastwards. The warmth from his Goddess enlivens him and makes him more quick. He knows that Dolvar's henchmen are on his trail. He's sure that he'll be caught should he falter just a moment. The voice of his Goddess still encourages him... She's there, with her loving spirit. And he talks to her. He tells her his angst about what will become of Asgard. He tells her what he heard. To kill a Goddess incarnate. To sell Asgard to the Underworld... _I see_, comes the answer... the voice of his Lady is like a caress. _Now worry only for your own safety. Reach Blue Grado and ask sanctuary to King Alexer. He will not refuse to help you. I'll contact him... _Yes, Blue Grado. In Eastern Siberia... No common man could reach it. But the power of his Goddess makes him as quick as a falling star. And even though he feels Dolvar's men nearby he's not afraid. His faith in his Lady is stronger.


	4. Winter I

**Part Two**

**Winter**

1

White and soft wool, just weaved. Strands of pale blue silk embroidered into her gown with joyful decorations. Shimmering pearls on the bodice and in her hair, interwoven with lilies from the south. She's the brightest light in the palace, tonight flooded with the light of a thousand candles… Yet she feels dead inside. Because he hasn't come. Her Cygnus with blue eyes didn't accept her invitation. And now she would just like to rip her own magnificent dress off and cry. Hyoga is asking her to leave him alone, because in his life there's no place for her. There's no different explanation. The Asgard high society is laughing, dancing and talking all around her. Soon they all will move to the square where a puppet resembling a wolf will be burned in a spectacular bonfire. The foreign guests appear at ease. She had a few words with Natassia from Blue Grado… She asked her about Hyoga and Natassia depicted him like a brave and honourable hero. _Thank you. I already knew that. _But it's clear that the Princess of Blue Grado knows less than her about Hyoga's private life… _Hyoga, Hyoga, always Hyoga…If I keep thinking about him I'll risk losing my mind…_ When her eyes meet those of Loki, a general of Asgard-Parva, she draws away. He's being gazing at her the whole evening, and she doesn't like it… It's as if he's trying to strip her with his gaze. Freya wonders whether he's monstrously lewd or just a big boor. Like all of his people, after all. She tries to distract herself looking at her sister. A stunning Valkyrie dressed in green. So solemn and yet so charming… The Queen returns her gaze with a smile. Then she raises from the throne and claps her hands. All sounds in the hall cease. It's the signal that the feast is moving outside. Time for the puppet to burn. Then they all will head back inside to get warm with spiced hot wine, to forget how harsh and lethal the frost of northern nights can be.

2

The flames rise high into the sky. Fenrir the wolf is being eaten by the red strands, as if this was enough to set Balder the Luminous One free from his belly and give back the summer heat to Asgard. He can't avoid to take it personally. After all he bears the name of a God who is the Sun's perennial enemy, and Fenrir is son of that God. But perhaps he overrates himself. The bonfire light is the signal to his men. They will strike in seconds. Asgard-By-The-Sea doesn't have an army anymore, and anyway Loki doesn't think that they could do much against that kind of attack. The power the High Priest received from that mysterious Valentine is close to monstrous. Power over the deepest darkness, power over the beasts of Ragnarok. He's about to see terror on the faces of the people of Asgard-By-The-Sea and their allies. That pathetic Natassia of Blue Grado, with a dress barely concealing the poverty of her people… He'll ask her to Dolvar, as his war booty. Despite the fact that the Queen and her sister are far more attractive. But Loki doesn't delude himself. He won't be allowed to touch the regal pair. He gets close to the Princess and takes her by the wrist… She watches him incredulously and clearly disgusted.

"Forgive me, Your Highness, you must come with me…"

"How dare you?" the frail creature growls.

_I envy you, High Priest. Tomorrow this girl will be in your bed… _Loki doesn't care to answer, because the moonlight has been curtailed by the wings of the dragons Dolvar evoked. The people of Asgard-By-The-Sea screams and panics as the beasts dive upon the city. But only one of them lands as that bunch of fishermen flee looking for safety to the castle gates, where they won't find it. The beast looks at him, recognizing him as master. It's a splendid animal, more than ten yards long. The Princess struggles but Loki has no problem in taking her to the beast and dropping her on the brown scaled back. _It's going to be fun_, he thinks, ready to ride the dragon… The mighty animal spreads its wings, lifting icy gusts of wind. Freya screams.

"Hold tight, Your Highness" Loki says, as the dragon leaves the ground fast and powerful. Loki laughs, seeing down there the powerless, desperate gaze of the gorgeous silver-haired queen…

3

_Another glass of champagne, just one… _

"My lady, contain yourself…"  
Jabu wears his tuxedo as if it was a diving suit. Saori wonders if it could have been better to bring along someone else. Someone like Seiya. But perhaps that wouldn't have been a wise choice. The entire situation causes her considerable inner turmoil and the presence of Seiya would have just worsened things. And after all she doesn't think that Seiya could wear a tuxedo any better than Jabu. _For how long I'll have to suffer through these conversations? _She hates partying. Everybody tries to strike a conversation with her. After all, she's one of the richest persons on Earth, and there's that aura of nobility wrapping her family, or rather, the family of Mitsumasa Kido. _All considered, Jabu has got more noble blood than me. He's his son, in fact. While I… _Saori drinks another sip of champagne. _A maddened Satan worshiper and his acolyte. Could it be true… _And yet she harbours few doubts. Looking at Flora's eyes, so similar to her own, is enough.

"My lady, I don't think you should…"

"Shut up!" She would like Jabu to take a walk. Instead he seems glued to her. He was about to strike the butler when he told her that this was a party that required an invitation and that she didn't have one, and that nobody, be it Saori Kido or the Queen of England, could enter without it. But before Jabu could give him a blue eye that old lecherous Papathanassious Kouthos recognized her. "Saori? Saori Kido? You are also here? What a happy coincidence!" Under different circumstances she would have left in all hurry. She always loathed that repulsive billionaire with a penchant for young girls. But this time she allowed herself to be courteously accompanied inside the Solo residence. And now she's there, like anybody else, waiting for the master of the house to make his appearance. _If it takes him any longer my hair-do will go out of shape. _It took her hours to get ready. She's determined to leave him breathless. And after all black suits her. She's sure to be the most beautiful woman present. She's sure that a single glance will be enough to win back Julian Solo's heart. But all her certainties vanish when he finally enters, very sharply dressed and with the queen of tennis balls hanging by an arm. The girl has her hair drawn up and wears a pastel pink dress. _At least her ankles are not in sight_, Saori thinks malevolently. He greets his guests with a radiant smile, but when he lays eyes on her becomes sombre. _He was supposed to fall at my feet… _Julian crosses the all as if going into battle, dragging his dame along… Saori shudders when he stands before her. She never saw him with that gaze, as hard as stone. "What are you doing here? I surely didn't invite you."

Saori lifts her glass to him. She doesn't wish to be intimidated. "I came to contribute to your worthy cause…" In truth, she doesn't even know who will benefit from tonight's fundraising. But it doesn't matter.

Julian looks at her from head to toe, but doesn't change expression. "Enjoy yourself" he finally says, leaving her alone.

4

"You'll become cross-eyed if you keep peeping on her…" Sorrento laughs, as he keeps on feigning indifference.

"You can't understand" Julian replies. He'd never seen his friend lose his head for a woman. Even then… when he was one of his seven Generals he knew only loyalty to Poseidon and love for music.

"Why don't you talk to her?" he asks.

"To say what?" _It's useless… I become a straw man when I'm near to her… And tonight Saori's beauty is blinding… She seems… a goddess… How foolish… She's a goddess…_

"Annette is coming back" Sorrento warns him, just in time for he to take his eyes off Saori Kido. He likes Annette. This month with her has been fun… _But damn, Saori is Saori, no matter that she dealt me a blow under the belt… _

"I'll ask Annette to dance. You go have a chat with her…" Sorrento pats him on the shoulder.

_Should I? I feel very angry with her…_

Saori's talking with her escort, a boy with ashen blond hair and a goofy countenance.

_Should I?_

When he nears her, her perfume makes his head spin. "Could you come with me a moment?" he asks her. Just that. No greeting, no pleasantries. But a storm is raging inside his chest. _There's nothing to do about it. You're the love of my life…_

"No way, pal! Miss Saori stays here with me!" the blond guy exclaims. He's got a quite powerful Cosmo. He's probably one of her Saints.

"Jabu, please…" Saori rebukes him quietly.

Julian offers her an arm. _Alea iacta est… _he thinks, leading her on the balcony. _Like then… Just like then…_

"Here's where you asked me to marry you…" she comments, appropriately.

Julian is oddly relaxed now. Perhaps the sound of sea waves calms his spirit. This is why he remains silent, content to watch her. _A Goddess… Athena was reborn with you… Instead I… mine is just a silly case of possession. _"Why did you come? Is my opinion concerning you so important?" _Endless black eyes. Her power is in her gaze._

"I thought I was acting for the best. I was clearly wrong. Do you really think that in my shoes you wouldn't have done the same? I wanted to give you the chance to live like a normal man…" Saori looks around. "This does not mean common… This goes without saying…"

"Do you know what is like to have emptiness inside?" he asks.

She returns her gaze to him. "No."

"I never know when he'll be coming. When I'll start to think what he wants me to think." He needs to tell her how he's felt since the return of Poseidon. She's the only person he could talk to with total frankness. "How can it be? I thought he'd been sealed…"  
Saori shakes her head. "I don't know. His power is slowly infiltrating in you. He's proving stronger than my seal. I must be getting sloppy…"

He smirks at her. _No. I remember your power. It was terrifying. _

"Just don't worry. As long as the amphora remains closed he will not be able to overcome you completely" Saori goes on. "And I know just how it feels. To never be completely yourself… But I believe that you're the real amphora…"  
Julian nods. He knows what she's trying to tell him. The amphora is a symbol. He carries the seed of predestination. Poseidon lives in him, despite not having the power to emerge. The fish… The dead fish he and Sorrento found after their second encounter. _It was dead… I took it in my hands… I told it to return to the sea, dropped it into the water and away it swam… Thetys… Why do I realize it just now…? It was Thetys… the kind blonde mermaid… she saved my life and I gave her back hers. Poseidon was still in me. He's always been…_

"Are you feeling sad, Julian?" Saori asks him.

_What a mistake… but how could I blame you? You did it for my good. For me. _"No. Perhaps a little. I was thinking about a lost friend. And about what you did. I should perhaps reflect on it more… How's that girl… the one Eris took?"

"Well" replies Saori. "But I'm watching her."

"She's still in danger, you know."

"She'll always be. It's the way it works. But I don't want her to live with this obsession. She has to leave it behind."

Saori seems very confident. He's not persuaded that matters could be that simple. _I want to kiss you… _"Shall we have breakfast together tomorrow? I owe you an encounter…"

Her thoughts flood him, subtle and sharp like the sound of a thousand bells. _"White trousers… fuchsia cardigan…"_

"White trousers…?" he asks, puzzled.

"Are you sure that your girlfriend won't mind?" Saori asks, yet her triumphant gaze is not lost to Julian.

"I love you" he replies. She doesn't lowers her eyes. There's something impudent in the way she's looking at him. _What do you expect it's going to happen now?_

"Done."

_What do you expect, Saori? I want to kiss you… Do you wish to be kissed? _Julian passes his lips lightly on her forehead. _That's better… _She looks somewhat disappointed. _Tomorrow… Maybe tomorrow…_

5

Everything happens very quickly. For hours he's been looking at the leaden sky falling upon the white plains wondering why he returned home instead of going to Asgard as he'd been ordered to. Perhaps he had hoped that icy Siberia could lighten his thoughts. He loves that place. He didn't bring flowers for his mother, this time. The thought of how far the ship has sunk saddens him, as if some higher power had wanted to drag her away from him forever. And after all this was Camus' purpose when his might took away his last tie with childhood. Hyoga is unsure whether he should be grateful for that. And then… _What would Camus tell me now? That such turmoil for a woman is unworthy of one of Athena's Saints… _Hyoga grins. _If only I could understand why the thought of meeting Freya scares me so much… _

Then screams take him out of his reflections… screams mingling with the howling wind. Hyoga looks around, then walks briskly toward the origin of the sound. When he sees them he realizes that they're foreigners. They are six, surrounding an exhausted and probably wounded man, unable to stand. Their armours are blue and the furs they wear leave few doubts that they're of Nordic birth. The downed man whispers something. He's imploring for help. Hyoga knows that tongue. It's the odd Germanic language spoken in Asgard. Hyoga doesn't need to think. He blocks one of the six that was ready to strike, putting between him and his victim a spike of ice. The warrior raises his head in puzzlement. _Oh, it's nothing… _Now he's enraged. _Six on one. Cowards. And you also interrupted my thoughts. _Nobody should do such things. Not in his homeland. The sight of blood-stained ice puts him beyond himself. _On my mother's grave… _He tells them. He's seething, and he won't forgive them. He cries it in Russian, doesn't matter that they can't understand his words. The men in blue laugh. They promise him death and charge him. _Slow… You're too slow for me… _He strikes. It's a knee-jerk reaction to him. He's quick and merciless. The six men realize too late that their opponent is not just a kid without armour. _This is how Athena's Saints fight… _thinks Hyoga, dispatching the fourth. The two who stand still look at each other and run away, not before cursing him. For an instant Hyoga weights the possibility of chasing them. Foreigners… he never saw similar armours. Then he remembers about the wounded man and decides that helping him is more important. He leans upon him raising his head. He encourages him talking in his tongue, but it doesn't take him much to realize that the poor man will not survive. He also wears an armour, similar to those of his assailants. He's been attacked by his colleagues. The man's red beard is covered with ice crystals. _There's nothing I could do for him… _Hyoga thinks.

"Asgard…" the man says with a squeaky voice. Hyoga's heart skips a beat. "The Valhalla Palace…"

_No_, thinks Hyoga. _He's not Asgardian. That on his chest is not Hilda's coat of arms. _Yet terror grips him. The man raises a hand in his direction, as if desperately searching for his help. He says something. Something about a battle of Gods that Hyoga finds hard to comprehend. Then his life ends, leaving only the sound of the whistling wind. Almost ironically, the aurora borealis magnificently fires up in the sky. Hyoga stands there, looking down at the man's corpse. _Asgard… What happened to Asgard?_ He should have been there. _Perhaps they're in danger. Freya, Hilda… everybody. Had I been in Asgard, as it was my duty… but these are not the Asgard bearings… _The man spoke of Valhalla. A nagging doubt hits Hyoga's mind. _Could it be that he was speaking about the real Asgard? The city of the Aesir Gods?_ Hyoga reflects briefly. He knows that he should tell Athena what happened and then head for Asgard, praying that nothing happened to Freya and her people.

6

She's unable to sleep. Nothing to do. She keeps tossing and turning insider her bed, wide-eyed. _He said 'I love you'. He said it. He has never been so explicit. And he was so handsome…Yes, he said 'I love you'. When I'll tell Flora about it…_His lips on her forehead had been a strange sensation. She had hoped for something more. _I've been waiting for seventeen years. I could wait until tomorrow…Indeed, and then? What then? What exactly do I expect from him? Should I hold him at bay? Tell him that nothing will ever happen between us? That I love another man? Do I? Then why I cannot sleep? _The thought from outside is as cold as a shard of ice.

_My lady…_

_Hyoga? _Saori relaxes her muscles, preparing to receive another contact. _Hyoga, is that you?_

In an instant the voice of Cygnus fills her head. _My lady, I helped a man… a man attacked by six warriors. Before dying, he told me that something menaces Asgard. Give me permission to go there and see first-hand. _

For a split second Saori ponders on it. _Wait, wait. You should already be in Asgard! Where the hell are you, Hyoga?_

A short silence. _In Siberia. I have no time to explain myself now. I'm afraid that the man wasn't talking about the mundane Asgard we all know, but about the city of the Gods…_

_All right, I see. Reach Hilda as soon as possible and hear what she has to say. Hyoga…do you need help? Do you think we should join you?_

_No. _Hyoga's answer is firm. _We don't know what we're talking about. You shouldn't expose yourself to risk purposelessly, Miss Saori. I'll contact you should the need arise._

_As you wish. Keep me informed, Hyoga…_

Silence. Hyoga's spirit drew away from her. _The real Asgard…What's going on there?_

7

She stopped crying. She even stopped trembling. The frosty air dried her tears up during the frightening flight astride the dragon… Now her eyes burn and she's barely able to keep them open. As they touched ground the man called Loki dragged her to a coach guarded by three torch-carrying soldiers. Asgard-Parva soldiers. But she never doubted about it. She knew this was going to be their final destination, what escaped and still escapes her is why. She cowered in a corner of the coach, watching Loki constantly. Her fear left, to be replaced by anxiety. "What do you want from me?" she asked, as the wheels bump on the mountain track.

He replied with a snicker. "Don't be alarmed, princess. Nobody's going to hurt you."

Freya peeked out as soon as the coach stopped, making out the imposing, massy outline of the Asgard-Parva citadel. She understood that the trip was over well before Loki came to drag her out. He forced her through a brass door, semi-hidden in shadows, as if hiding from inquisitive glances, then ordered her to go up a stone staircase that seemed to have no end. Finally he shoved her inside a room, locking the door behind them. It was a well-furnished room, lit by oil lamps. A lady's room. It took a moment for Freya to register the presence of two other men. She knows who the older one is. He's the Lord of the city, the High Priest of Odin, Dolvar. He's looking at her perplexedly.

Pushing her, Loki throws her at him. "All yours" he says.

Dolvar stops her fall, then puts her aside. "Good God, Valentine! I didn't remember she was so young! She's a little girl!" He's holding her by the shoulders like she was a vulgar housemaid, as if she wasn't a human being but a lump of brute meat.

The youngster on Dolvar's side laughs out. His modern clothes make him look hopelessly out of place. "She's fifteen. She's old enough. And spare me your 'Good God'!"

Dolvar's eyes become slits as he keeps scrutinizing her. "And she's too thin… her breasts are too meagre and her hips boyish… She's not of my taste…"

"She doesn't need to be" the man called Valentine points out. "You'll be free to toy with your curvy maids if you really want to. What matters is that she can carry."

A wave of nausea floods her. She wants to scream, but she finds no air in her throat.

"If you really loathe her, I could take her. This girl is of my fancy" Loki adds.

Her legs are shaking and tired. _I must not lose consciousness now… _"What… what do you want from me?" she croaks out feebly, sounding quite like a newborn kitten.

The threesome laugh. "Nothing of harmful." Dolvar raises her face. "Tomorrow at this hour we'll be married…"

Her head spins. She loses her equilibrium, but who cares. _Better dead…_ she thinks.

But Dolvar holds her up. "Hush, do rest now. I don't want an upset-looking bride. I'll send someone to take care of you."

_Better dead. Yes, better dead…_

"And don't even think about taking your own life" Valentine says, as if he'd read her through. "Something nasty would then happened to your dear sister…"  
_Hilda… _She left Asgard under a siege by dragons. _It's a nightmare… This man… No, I don't want…_

"Let's leave her alone now" says Dolvar. "She must be exhausted, poor thing…"

The trio leaves the room. Only when she hears their voices fade Freya summons the strength to try the handle. Of course the door doesn't open, as she had expected. She goes by the window and realizes that she's at the top of a tower, the bottom of which is impossible to see. _Seems like something out of Mother Goose… But my hair aren't long enough to let my tresses reach a saviour prince down there…_

Utterly drained, Freya falls on the bed, that at least is soft and clean. _I mustn't sleep… I've got to find a way to escape… I mustn't sleep… _Then her eyes close, tiredness overcomes her.

8

_What a glorious morning…_Saori picks up another lemon flavoured biscuit. She had never seen the Solo villa in the daylight before.

"Are you cold? Your arms are bare…" Julian asks her. He's totally at ease. This is his kingdom, after all. The sea under them is a blue plane. A magnificent day.

"No" Saori replies.

Julian pours her some more tea. Then a waiter comes near and hands Julian a phone. "Excuse me…" he says. And then: "Annette, cherie… are you already awake?"

Saori tries in vain to distract herself. _Annette, cherie…_ She's worrying for Hyoga. She hasn't heard from him yet. Something is telling her that he's walking into something bad. She decided to leave as soon as possible. She must warn the boys that soon war could rage. The frequency of attacks has become worrisome. _Hades wants to make it quick… Should he be able to take me out of the picture before his rebirth, his path will be clear… _

Julian leave the phone on the table. "Excuse me. Were we saying?"  
W_e weren't' saying anything. Annette, cherie… _"May I ask you a personal question?"

"Tell me" Julian sips quietly his tea.

"What's there between you and that tennis player?"

"We're friends."

"Are you intimate with each other?" _There. Now he'll think you're overtly jealous._

Julian lifts his eyes to look at her. "This is a _very_ personal question."  
Saori sighs. "Don't try to escape. This would mean that the answer is yes."

"What does it matter to you?" Julian replies with a smirk.

_Good question. _Suddenly she feels uneasy. She just made a faux pas.

"And what's there between you and Pegasus Saint?"

That smirk again… Saori takes another biscuit. "I didn't give you permission to ask personal questions."

Julian takes her hand. "Let's be done with it, shall we?" _What a beautiful strong hand… I didn't think I could feel so well in his company…_

"I have to go, Julian." He seems chastened, but she reassures him. "It's not something you said. One of my Saints is in danger. We must help him."  
"May I help you somehow?"

_Right, you're a God again. Or close to that. _"No. Stay out of this if you can. It's nothing big."  
He watches her for a moment, then nods. "You know that, should you need me, I'm here."

"I know" Saori gets up, as Julian does. She gives him a hand. "It's been a pleasure."

"Forgive me, I'd rather say goodbye to you this way…" A moment later he's kissing her. She didn't even have time to realize it. But it's good. And her head is spinning. When she draws away from him Saori barely finds the strength to open her eyes.

"What could I offer to a girl that has everything already to persuade her to love me?"

He's so serious. _I'm making you suffer, am I not. _"I'm not for sale, Julian. Offer me yourself. Give me the real Julian. The one nobody knows. I can accept only that." The challenge is on. She can only hope that he's up to the task. But now she must think about Hyoga.

9

Once again Lasse examines the map of Asgard-By-The-Sea. He's growing nervous. He wants to attack and take the city. He knows that they could invade it in a single day… But Queen doesn't let him proceed. Lasse is irate. After all, he's commander in chief of the High Priest Dolvar's siege forces. Still, he's got to obey that strange creature. He's almost sure that Queen Alraune is a woman, but he's not absolutely certain. Demons in the making can prove dangerously deceptive. Sooner or later he'll find out. In the most drastic way. Dragons went over Asgard-By-The-Sea two times this morning. There have been a few casualties, but it had simply been a show of power. Just to let Queen Hilda know who's in charge now. But Lasse is bored. They camped outside the city walls waiting for an order which is proving late. And he doesn't have anything better to do than studying battle plans and wondering about Queen's sexuality. When she enters… _she…it has to be she… _Lasse raises his eyes.

"A Saint of Athena is coming" she says with that voice, too deep for a woman but too ambiguous to be a man's.

Lasse gets up, joyfully. _Time to rumble! _

But Queen dispels his illusion. "I want you to let him pass. He must be free to enter and leave the city at will."

Lasse bites his lips. "Why?"

Queen raises her shoulders. "Superior orders. The battle against Athena will not be fought here…"

Such an answer is not enough. He needs a real war.

Queen grins. "Soon Goddess Athena will be here in person. We'll send her to your High Priest safe and sound. He'll turn her over to my Lord and only then you'll be free to tear into pieces anybody who lives in these sewers. I'm just asking you to be patient for a couple of days…"

Lasse nods. Patience has never been his forte. And he's not sure he understood well the bizarre strategy of their demonic allies. And he's got no choice but to obey.

10

The walk wasn't a very long one, but he feels as broken as he'd marched for days. He wants to drink. Something strong to let him make the angst he feels disappear… He immediately realized that in Asgard something's going wrong. The city was besieged and those beasts… Hadn't he seen them with his very own eyes he would hardly believe it. When he was coming they were circling around the castle towers like birds of prey. He had expected a fight, instead entering the city proved much too easy. He had more trouble with the sentinels guarding the walls. Something tells him that the enemy, and now he knows his name, voluntarily let him pass without bothering him. He told Queen Hilda everything that took place in Siberia and she had looked at him with her tired face.

"What's going on?" Hyoga had asked.

The Queen gave him audience in her private rooms. Clearly she wanted to talk with him away from prying ears. Finally the woman resolved to tell him everything. "The High Priest of Odin, Dolvar, wants Asgard to end."

Hyoga found it hard to understand. "I thought you were the only representative of Odin on Earth…"

Hilda smiled bitterly. "I wish I was. I really wish. But there are two cities named Asgard, two statues of Odin and two representatives of the God…"

Hyoga listened incredulously. He had believed that the man he casually met was talking about the celestial city of the Gods. Instead… another mundane Asgard…

"It's to the west from here," the Queen went on. "Between the mountains. A long time ago there was a war between us. Both parties claimed the right to bear the name of the city of the Gods. But after years a divine sign made Odin's will clear. My grand-grandfather and High Priest Dolvar's grandfather decided to bring the war to a close with a duel of leaders. It was then that the miracle happened. A sword and a pouch of seeds appeared between the duellists. A sword and seeds from another world."

"The sword was Balmung, right?" Hyoga asked.

"Indeed. And the seeds came from the Tree of the Universe Yggdrassill. It was clear to everybody that Odin didn't want war, but peace. So my grand-grandfather took Balmung and his enemy the seeds of Yggdrassill. Two Asgards, two Priests, two divine treasures. Two colossal statues of the God were made in each one of the city, two statues that should always have guarded the treasure. But now…"

"Dolvar wants Balmung?" Hyoga asked.

The Queen shook her head. "No. He couldn't touch it. It's ours. Unless… he mixes blood with our people's becoming de facto the only representative of Odin through his descendants…"

"Descendants? Do you mean that Dolvar is doing all this to persuade you to give him a son?"

Hyoga noticed that the Queen was shaking and had become terribly pale. "Hyoga… Dolvar already has what he wants… he had Freya kidnapped, don't you see?"

No, he didn't understand, or rather he refused to. He doesn't believe it even now, because the thought could drive him insane. _Had I been here…had I been here like Saori had ordered me I could have protected her, if…_

Hilda had started to sob. "I swear, Hyoga, if he will but touch her with a finger, I…" She quickly dried her eyes, regaining her self-control. "Then he'll slaughter us…"

Hyoga barely heard her. _He'll wait until he's had Freya… until he's had Freya…No…No… Not Freya…Not my Freya… _"I'm going to get her back" he told her.

Hilda's look was both surprised and relieved. "Hyoga…"

"I'm going to get her back. And I'll kill Dolvar…" _Yes, because it's my fault only. I should have been here. And now… I will not allow anyone to harm her… anyone…_

So he went along, and he's been walking from hours. But now he knows he's arrived. West of Asgard, the other Asgard. In the distant he saw the hilt of Odin's sword shimmer. But now he's beginning to feel strange. To lose his footing, beset by vertigo. _This place is imbibed with evil…_ He's struck, unable to defend himself. Pain and nausea. He faintly realizes that his opponent is a white-bearded giant with a feral expression. He falls, helpless. _A Saint of Athena_ _unable to even stir…_he thinks. _They were awaiting me…_Other people around him. Hyoga barely tells their voices. They took Freya. And he was beaten when he was so close to her…

11

Valentine was right. The were about to be attacked by Athena's Saints. But he was also wrong. There was just one Saint. He probably realized that he was drained only at the last moment, when Rhung started to ravage him. It's like a dark cloud, depriving outsiders of oxygen. It's a shield Valentine placed upon Asgard. Loki doesn't trust him. Yet he knows that the High Priest Dolvar's dreams of glory require that half demon to nurture them. _Then I'll ask to be declared regent of Asgard-By-The-Sea, _Loki thinks. _He won't disappoint me, just like he won't deny me Queen Hilda's company._

"Splendid job, Rhung" Loki says, leaning over the unconscious Saint_. He's just a boy, _he reflects. _If Athena's army is composed of kids like him, it's going to be a walkover. _Rhung grunts, grateful.

"Is he alive?" Dolvar asks, wrapped in a fur coat. He came personally, descending to the fiords when he was told of the invader's arrival.

Loki observes the boy more carefully. A moan escapes his lips. "Yes" he replies. _But now we'll finish him off. _He raises a hand to strike. Then the boy mumbles a name and he stops.

"Did I hear well?" Dolvar asks.

Loki nods. _What a pleasant surprise… _"He said Freya's name. And something tells me that he wasn't talking about your sister."

Dolvar's laugh is chilling. "Good. What a lucky coincidence. We stand near a lover searching for his beloved one."  
_Pitiful… _thinks Loki. The little fisher girl is proving a nuisance. This morning she destroyed her room, screaming like a banshee. For a moment Loki wonders if it wouldn't be better to just give her to Athena's kid, telling him to take her very, very far away. _Hateful girlie… _Sadly, Dolvar doesn't seem to be like-minded.

The Priest rubs his hands. "Good. Very good. Take him into our dungeons. Perhaps I just found the way to soften our princess a bit."

Loki gestures to Rhung, who takes the boy on a shoulder. _It would have been better to kill him, _he thinks. But Dolvar's' orders are not to be discussed.

12

Stiff and pouting. Two subtle gold chains hold her wrists. She couldn't go farther from her bed than two yards. Dolvar wants her to require help for everything. After the ruckus she caused this morning, he thought this was the only thing to do. The girl must understand who's in control. The room is tidy again, and three stout maids bathed her and cleaned her up. She's looking at him with hatred. _Yes. This expression becomes her highly. And after all she's not that bony. _

"What's that supposed to be?" the Princess asks, pointing at the dummy wearing a magnificent dress the colour of ivory embroidered with lace and emeralds.

"Your wedding dress, of course. You don't like it? If it doesn't satisfy you, I'll have it changed, although we don't have a lot of time, as we're getting married tonight…"

She laughs. "It's a wonderful dress, but I will not marry you, so get this extravagant idea out of your head. I've been thinking about it, and I realized that you were going to harm my people anyway, so…"

"Hush, my darling. You really are making quite a story of it." Dolvar looks at her intently, studying the best way to strike. She looks just like a precious doll. But she's not as easily bent. He could proceed by force, but it's not like him. No woman can spurn him. Not even that recalcitrant child. And now he's got an ace up his sleeve. The Saint of Athena. His kind shouldn't even exist. His perfect face, his chiselled body, his proud eyes. Just like Frey. Men like him always get what they want. "Now relax, my Princess. I have a wonderful surprise for you."

The girl gives him a strange look. "Do you? Did you find out that you're in the last stadium of a mortal disease?"

Dolvar laughs. "You've got a sense of humour. It's a quality I must learn to be glad of. But it's not this. No, my dear. Someone has come to see you. And after you've met him I promise that you'll be free to decide independently whether you wish to stay here as my wife or to go wherever you want to.

Freya's gaze is veiled with suspicion. "Where is the trick? Who are you talking about?"

Dolvar finds it hard to contain the feeling of triumph burning inside him. _I always come out on top, child. _"No tricks. You have my word. And if you want to know who is our guest, just follow me." Dolvar frees he wrists with the key dangling by his neck. Freya's face registers unlikely hope. _Adorable… _Dolvar thinks, offering her an arm.

"I'll follow you" she just says, keeping her distance.

He grins. _Fine. We'll be much too close very soon._

13

She's not able to understand if these are the same stairs Loki forced her to climb the evening before. But at the moment she finds more important to concentrate on Dolvar who walks three steps ahead of her on them. She knows that she can't and shouldn't trust him, yet she can't avoid hoping. _Perhaps there's really an Asgard envoy. Perhaps Hilda is negotiating with Dolvar, perhaps she gave him some land, privileges or who knows what, perhaps tomorrow I'll be really free…_She's aware that allowing such thoughts is wrong, but she's got nothing else. Dolvar stops before a door of old wood, with two guards by the sides. He opens it and gestures at her. "Get in."

Freya stops. "Do you want to lock me up here?"

Dolvar rolls his eyes in open exasperation. "Don't be silly, Your Highness. I wouldn't have needed such a charade for a thing like that. Now get inside and greet you charming prince."

_Charming prince? _Freya walks past the doorstep, sees him and loses all breath. He's wounded, bleeding, chained, but it's Hyoga. _No_, she thinks, _how can he be here? Why? _When the boy raises his head and finds the strength to smile at her she feels as weak as she never felt. She runs at him and throws her arms around his neck. He moans, so Freya lets go. _He's unwell. How silly. I shouldn't have done it…_

"Hi…" Hyoga whispers.

She tries to deterge the blood from his face, but it proves impossible. "Hyoga…" She wants to ask him what happened, but is just able to say his name. "Hyoga…"

"I wonder why do we always meet in this kind of circumstances…"

_Is he trying to joke? Is he trying to make me feel better?_ Suddenly she's crying.

"No. No, Freya. Don't. It's only my fault… I should have protected you, instead…"

_What is he saying? _Then she realizes that he's too weak to be totally intelligible, and can only say his name again. "Hyoga…" She hugs him again, this time less tightly.

"You know? I tried hard… but I couldn't stay a single day without thinking of you…"

Under different circumstances she could be totally blissful. But now those words hurt terribly. _I love you…The Gods punish me for it…_

"Listen, Freya." Hyoga's voice is regaining strength. "Something is not letting me burn my Cosmo. But I'm learning to fight it, whatever it is… I promise you that I'll soon be free and will take you away from here. Just hold on, right? Don't give up, Freya… Promise me that you won't let these people break you…"

She lays her head on his shoulder. _Yes. Now that Hyoga is here everything is going to be fine. _"Promise."

Behind her, the door opens. Freya turns to look. Dolvar, of course. _Do you plan to use Hyoga as a hostage? Fool. He's stronger than you. He'll rip off the rotten heart that's beating inside your chest!_

"That's enough." The Priest calls the two guards. "Lead the Princess back to her room."

"Remember, Freya…" whispers Hyoga.

She nods. "I love you" she says, kissing his lips. The guards drag her away from him. But it doesn't matter. She knows that everything will turn out to the good. She doesn't even glance at Dolvar as she passes him by. He's dead, he just doesn't know it.

14

The pain is subsiding. In a few hours he will have his power back. Then the Almighty Dolvar will fall on his knees begging for mercy.

"You know? They say that a kiss from the bride brings luck" he says with a scornful grin and Hyoga feels the urge to kill him. "I don't know if I like her or not yet… I'll make my mind after passing the night between her legs, don't you think?"

Now he knows rage. Blind, all consuming. He rattles his chains, trying to reach the man's neck. In vain.

"Hyoga… Not a Greek name. Not even Germanic. You know, Hyoga? I always hated your kind. The ones favoured by fate…"

_Psycho. Filthy pig. Kill me now, or you will not have another occasion! _He bites back a futile blasphemy. It's not in his nature. _I must not lose my head. In a few hours me and Freya will be leaving…_

"Why do you have a Christian cross around the neck?"

Hyoga doesn't answer. He's got just a thought in mind. _I'll kill you, I'll kill you, I'll kill you…_

"Do you know that you won't die? I'm generous by nature. I believe that killing such a warrior as you would be a deplorable waste. And you're an insurance policy on my descendants. As long as you live Freya's only choice will be to second anything I could wish…"

"You're wrong" growls Hyoga. "She'll never be yours. She's strong. She'll…"

"Enough." Dolvar lifts a hand to his face. His fingers seem to dance in the air. Pointy nails, strong slender hands… Five fingers, ten, thirty, a veil of meat ceaselessly moving, ceaselessly moving… "You should be thankful, Hyoga. This is where you belong, you'll be happy with us."

_Yeah, I'll be happy… why do I wear a cross around my neck? It was mama's. I also put it on Ikki's grave… But he doesn't die…and he gave it back to me… Mama, you would like Freya…She's so sweet and brave…you would like her…she's also a bit like you… yes you would like Ellie… Ellie… Freya…What are you trying to tell me, mama?... "You're a bad boy, Hyoga…You can't be so…Those girls don't deserve it…" I know, mama, you're right…But I… Camus…said that I should have emptied my heart…what a disappointment for my teacher…my teacher…his crystal Cloth… "Where are you going, Hyoga?"…Isaac… he's laughing inside my head… "Take your time. I will take your scraps…" Cold air…I like it…I like cold, ice, snow… "Right. What do you have in common with the Athens sun?"… Half blood… "His mother is Russian…" To hell! We're brothers! "You're a strange one, little Russian…" You're my father…why are you looking at me like that? I'm not like you…I did everything wrong… Athena… shouldn't she be a warrior? Instead she whimpers and calls for help… we are her guard dogs… this man before me instead… the power and charisma a real leader… the Voice of Odin… The God of the Northern People. The God wielding the sword Balmung… My God…I should have surrendered to him from the very start… I am like you, Mighty Odin… Look at my hair, Odin, look at my eyes. My blood comes from you, not from Athena…Let me bow before you, Voice of Odin… Let my life be yours… Let me find my true self… everything I want is to offer you my life…_

His wrists are free. Hyoga falls. He holds his eyes low. He doesn't dare look directly into the face of the Voice of Odin.

"Can you stand, my son?" his Lord asks.

Hyoga stands up, clenching his teeth. He would never in the world disappoint the High Dolvar. The Priest smiles. _Ask for my life, it's yours…_

"Hyoga… Do you wish to serve Odin, Hyoga?"

He nods. _Yes, until I die…_

"It's a serious commitment, Hyoga. I must be sure of your loyalty. Your comrades will be here soon. Will you fight them for me?"

"They're not my comrades!" Hyoga protests furiously. _Athena is just trash. Divine refuse. And her servants are even worse._

"Your life is mine, Hyoga" the High Priest Dolvar tells him. He thinks it simple and wonderful. "Freya… Forget about her."  
_Freya? Who cares about Freya? She's your bride. Nothing more._

"Now we'll find you a new name and a new armour. We'll heal your wounds, then you'll escort me to the Princess. As soon as this thorny matter is over you'll be free to join the other God Warriors."

_God Warriors, yes… Why be just a Saint when you can rise to be a God Warrior?_

Dolvar looks satisfied, and this is all Hyoga needs to know.

15

As soon as she enters Tatsumi runs at her. "Young lady, thankfully you are back!"

"What's happening now?" She would love nothing better than a bath and then have a talk with the boys. Hyoga is in trouble. Perhaps he contacted the others.

"It's Shiryu. Miss Shunrei locked herself in his room. Two days ago."

"So what? What kind of tragedy is this, Tatsumi?"

"My lady! This is a honourable house, and theirs is a conduct befitting to a brothel!"

Saori shakes her head. "I don't see anything wrong in it. Shunrei is his betrothed." Saori moves toward the staircase but Tatsumi stops her again.

"There is more, my lady. Also Seiya locked himself two days ago, into the gym. With Shaina. They scream like savages."

Saori giggles. _A strange way of lovemaking… _"Anything else? Where is Shun locked in?"

"Shun? Nowhere. But that Slav girl… puts the stereo at an impossible volume… the same song, over and over… It's giving me the creeps… Something about blood red roses and a murdered girl…" Just then from upstairs comes a melancholy, sombre melody. "There. Here we go again…"

"Tatsumi, I'm going up to Flora a moment… I want Shiryu, Shun and Seiya in the living room half an hour from now."

16

It has grown into an obsession. She envisions every step they have to do in her mind. _He'll wear total black, I'll wear white… A pity he will not be able to asperse me with red petals… _Returning into this frame of mind is great. How long has it been since she concentrated last upon preparing an exhibition? And the song is so beautiful and sad… _We'll keep it for the gala. Because we'll reach the podium, whatever it takes. _Hearing a knock at the door Flora feels incredulous. _They learned to do it._ She smiles to Saori, and hugs her on instinct.

"Could you lower the volume?" the Goddess asks.

Flora does as requested. "Back already? What happened?"

"It went well." Saori opens her face in a radiant smile. "He kissed me and declared me his love…"  
"And you?" She's really curious. And she doesn't know how Saori plans to conduct this thing.

"What is this music? It's so sad…" Saori is trying to change subject and Flora doesn't press it.

"Don't you like Nick Cave?"

"I don't know him. And I only said that it's sad…"

"This is going to be our music for the closing number. I will be poor Elisa Day and Hyoga my murderer…"

Saori seems to suddenly stir herself. "Hyoga… Yes, I must tell you about Hyoga…"

She recounts the few things she knows and Flora starts to worry. _In what trouble did he walk in? _A small, selfish corner of her brain is praying for her 'partner' not to injure himself.

"I'm leaving for Asgard now. In the meantime… Could you use your mirrors to trace him?"

Flora nods. She goes to the mirror on the commode and concentrates. Searching… the Northern Cross, Cygnus, Hyoga's Cosmo… Searching… searching… searching… And finally gives up. "I can't" she says. "It's as if… as if Hyoga didn't exist…" She sees tension on Saori's' features, reflected into the mirror.

"Then I'm going there. Immediately." Athena turns and open the door.

"Saori…" The Goddess stops. "Accept a suggestion. Take all your Saints with you. Some of them feel second-rate warriors. A gesture of trust from you would quench these troubles…"

"Got it" Saori replies. Then she leaves.

17

She's calm. Although she's seen him like that. Because she's confident in him. She knows that he will come to save her. He promised. Only a few hours. She swallows the meal they brought for her. She knows that she will need strength. They didn't cuff her wrists this time. Dolvar is probably very self-assured. Having Hyoga under custody makes him feel strong. _Idiot…_Freya smirks. _He'll make you pay for everything, you'll see…_

When the door opens Freya grins, because he's there. Free.

"I knew!" she cries, running toward him. _Less than an hour…It took him less than an hour…_She wonders if Dolvar is dead, but discovers that after all it doesn't matter. "Hyoga!" She hugs him with all her strength. Probably he took the vermilion Robe he's wearing from a Dolvar minion to arrive there undisturbed.

He grabs her wrists and pushes her roughly away. "Don't touch me, harlot!"

_What?_ Only then Freya looks him in the eyes and realizes that they're cruel and wicked. They're not Hyoga's eyes anymore. _You're faking it, right? It's a sham? Somebody's listening? _But in fact she knows that she needs no answer. She knows. Knows that the man before her is not Hyoga anymore. _Why?_

"I serve Odin. And you should be proud of becoming the High Priest Dolvar's wife instead of throwing yourself into the arms of the first man you come across like a vulgar prostitute."

Her head spins. She would like to see it through more clearly. He knows who she is. He recognized her. But his mind has changed. _Dolvar… _His laughter echoes obscenely. He peeks inside from the door, amused.

"What a nice surprise, don't you think, Princess?"

"What have you done to him…?" She's angry and scared. All hopes of freedom disappear. And Hyoga… Her own Hyoga seems to have lost his mind.

"I had been told that your prospective groom had died during the latest war. But I find that you fell in love with a Saint of Athena. I must have received false information…"

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM?" she screams out.

Dolvar comes near the table where she was dining shortly before. He picks up an apple and gives it a bite. "Let me introduce you to Midgard. A brand new God Warrior."

_Midgard… _She wants to cry.

"As I told you, now you're free to go wherever you please. Your choice. Anyway, tonight in Asgard we'll celebrate. It's up to you to determine whether it will be a wedding or an… _auto-da-fe_. Yes, this is how we could call it."

Freya wearily stumbles to a chair and lets herself fall upon it.

"Would you like a demonstration?" Dolvar reaches for a knife hanging to his belt and gives it to Hyoga. "Midgard, I want to see your blood."

_No…_thinks Freya as Hyoga takes off an armlet, then without a sound lets the blade run over his skin. Blood drops over the floor. Hyoga raises the blade then cuts his arm again, this time more deeply.

"Make him stop!" screams Freya.

Dolvar snickers. He takes his knife back and puts it on his belt again without even wiping the blood off. "You see, Your Highness… You can leave if you so choose. But first you'll assist to my Warrior's self sacrifice. Something like a parting gift for you."

_Madman…_She feels faint, and thanks Odin for the chair.

"Midgard will immolate for me if you will not choose to stay…"

Everything is becoming much too clear. Now she's really afraid.

"The life of your hero is in your hands, lovable Freya…" Dolvar goes on, while she can't bring herself to look Hyoga straight into his face. "I'm sure that you'll decide for the best. That you're going to be very sweet and docile with me. That you'll let yourself be taken to the altar and that you'll welcome me into your bed. Otherwise… your blond prince will give me his life throwing himself upon my sword…"

The wave of nausea is sudden and violent. She doesn't care of losing control. She stands, trying to reach the bathroom, but her legs fail her. She falls down beside the bed, vomiting her lunch.

"Don't worry. I'll send someone to clean up. I suppose this is your way to say yes. You're a wise girl, Freya. As long as you behave yourself nothing will happen to your prized Hyoga. Any gesture of rebellion from your part, I'll have his entrails stewed for your dinner."

_No…No…Not because of me…Not like Hagen…_Freya stands up again and reaches the bathroom. She washes her mouth and dries her eyes. Returning into the bedroom desperation numbs her sensibility. Hyoga hasn't moved… He remained on Dolvar's side as if what went on wasn't any business of his. He seems to ignore also his wounded arm that's washing the floor in blood.

"I beg you, have his wound cared for…" Freya implores, hating herself.

Dolvar nods, then turns to Hyoga. "You may leave, Midgard."

Hyoga doesn't look at her. He just exits the room, after retrieving his armlet.

"So? Do you think that we could worry about details now?" the Priest asks.

Freya consents. _I'm trapped. But I can't let him die. Not in this abject way…I don't… Hyoga…_

"We both fell desperately in love during last year's Procession of the Lost Ones. Your sister opposes to our union. But now that your city has weakened I sent my men to take you away, planning to put the Queen, your sister, before a _fait accompli._ This is going to be the official story. Everything clear?"

"Yes" murmurs Freya. _I'll pass for a traitor to my people. It doesn't matter, as long as he lives…Where is Athena? And anyway, what could she do now?_

"Good. Now allow yourself to be dressed for the ceremony. I grant you that it's going to be an unforgettable feast."

She's not listening anymore. Now she knows what being without a way out really means.

18

"What is Asgard?" asks Shiryu.

Saori understands. He's asking her what _really _Asgard is. Dragon realized immediately that her fears are not directed at the city where Hilda rules, but at the heavenly city of Odin. Seiya is shaking. He wants to reach Hyoga immediately, but Saori needs to think more. She goes on the balcony, realizing that it's becoming too cold for her silky dresses. "It's the country of the Northern Gods" she explains. _This involves leaving our bodies behind. Am I able to do it? Are these boys able to do it? And Hyoga… How could I have let him run such a risk? _Seiya says something she doesn't hear. _Seiya, Shiryu, Shun…_ Flora advised her to bring also the others along. _Am I really acting wrong? _A gust of frosty wind ruffles her hair. Dead leaves fly by before her eyes. She thinks to be somehow seeing him… Hyoga, her dear Hyoga, wounded and helpless… "Asgard…" That name has now acquired new weight. _I'll confront a warrior God, if it's what has to be. I'll fight for my Cygnus Saint. _"Where Odin is something strange happened…" _Valhalla. A legendary place. _She's ready to cross the dimension dividing the two worlds. _Perhaps Odin wants revenge for her Celebrant's demise. No… It's impossible… The God himself lent Seiya his help during the battle of Asgard. _She must see Hilda immediately. So far as she knows, Hyoga went to see her. "We're leaving tomorrow morning. Be ready…" she says. The Saints don't reply. Hyoga's life… Saori knows that she doesn't have to ask them to fight for Hyoga's life. _We are one thing. All of us. _It's clear to her. And this thought has a calming effect on her.

19

A bit of lipstick and she'll be ready. She can't believe this will be the evening of Dolvar's triumph. She knows that her only chance left lies in confronting him.

"Are you ready?" Frey asks.

Her brother is extremely elegant in his formal dress. He looks to be beaming with joy. _How can you not understand, Frey? _This is the last occasion she has to speak with him comfortably before the ceremony.

"Frey, don't you think all this somewhat strange?"

Her brother looks at her quizzically. She picks up the bronze coloured robe and throws it around her shoulders. "Don't you think such a hasty wedding not quite in Dolvar's style?"

They had only been informed a few hours before. She knows why. Dolvar wishes to establish his rights upon the Asgard-By-The-Sea Princess as soon as possible, so as to proceed with his infernal allies' plans. What she wants to know is the extent of her brother's suspicions.

Frey places the tiara upon her brow, as if she was a child who needs tending. It's just a golden ring shaped piece of jewellery, with an oval ruby. She doesn't like to over-adorn herself. "I told you" Frey takes a condescending tone. "The Princess' sister opposes to this wedding, this is why the High Priest decided to keep this matter a secret. But when Hilda of Asgard-By-The-Sea will accept their union, there will be a grand feast."

Freya looks attentively into her brother's clear eyes. _You're so naïve, Frey… But inside you rests a power that must be similar to mine, a power capable of opening your eyes. How can I not feel it, then?_

"Rather, I'm worrying about Loki. I dislike that man. He's got a receding glance."

_Loki. He's worried about Loki…Loki, just an arm serving Dolvar's thinking mind…_

"Let's go. Don't you want to see the girl bearing your same name?"

Freya leans against him. _Let's go on stage. You won only the first round, Dolvar…_

20

There are only about a hundred people. Voices echo in the immensity of the gothic arched throne room. It's the most luminous part of the palace, an incredibly vast hall of candid marble. The throne is empty tonight. The bronze statue of Odin points its only eye to the assembled ones. At its feet is a brazier that Loki keeps alight with coal. This time he has to upkeep the duties of the High Priest. Only the most notable Asgard nobility was invited. And, of course, the God Warriors. Among them, silent and indifferent, Midgard, hiding his features behind a metal mask. Dolvar finds it all highly amusing. He shares a knowing glance with Loki, then straightens the saddle-cloth of black velvet, embroidered in gold. It's a far too important an occasion for him to wear less than luxury clothes… As expected, the young Princess has become extremely malleable. Even Valentine congratulated him for his quick thinking. The demon left for Asgard-By-The-Sea to join his troops under Lasse's command. Tomorrow they will launch the first and final attack. "Soon Athena will be in your hands. Take care of her" he told him. Dolvar didn't ask himself how could the demon be so self assured. He will do his duty. But at present his attention focuses on his bride, who finally made her entrance and is walking in his direction to the admiring whispers of the guests. Her hair are spectacular. They probably took a lot of work. An arabesque of golden braids, emeralds and fir sprigs bathed in silver… The dress underlines her petite frame. Her face, exquisitely made up, looks tense. But this comes to Dolvar not as a surprise. _I know you're suffering. It will go away, child. You're radiant. Our son will inherit your beauty and my strength. _Freya gives him her hand, and he leads her close to the brazier. As he nods, Loki begins to recite the ritual words.

21

Nobody seems to realize how slow the girl's steps are. Everyone is enraptured by her sight.

"She's gorgeous, isn't she?" Frey tells her.

_Gorgeous indeed…_ "Quite too much, don't you think?" Freya replies. _Why would a woman like that wish to marry Dolvar? Can't you see the absurdity of it, Frey?_ Only when her eyes fall on the God Warriors Freya notices the masked man. "Frey, who's that?" she asks, pointing at the Warrior.

"His name is Midgard. He's just been accepted into the God Warriors, and is reported to be very strong… Now hush. I don't want to lose a single word…"

Freya doesn't speak. _Midgard… He's blond…Is he one of us?_ Loki started the pantomime. He called for Odin to bestow his gifts upon Asgard. Then he recounted summarily the circumstances of the wedding of Siegfried and Krimild. Now he's reciting the names of the Priests before Dolvar. Freya's eyes never leave the bride's sullen face. She nervously touches the stone encased into the ring she wears on her right hand. _This is all I can do for you, _she thinks. Loki takes the hands of the soon-to-be newly-weds and raises them over the brazier. The flames dance and extinguish without burning their skin.

"May Goddess Freya, the Shiny One, present you with her gifts and her blessings" Loki says solemnly.

_Yes, of course…Just as you want it… _Her blessings. She must save the girl from the absurd comedy playing around her. _If only I could know what kind of blackmail Dolvar is forcing her with… Because it has to be so. She's too passive. _Dolvar leads the Princess' hand away from the brazier, then puts an ancient gold ring on her finger. _My mother's ring… Everything according to tradition, right, Dolvar? _

Cheers and cries of joy salute the fresh union. Flowers are showered on the couple. Dolvar takes his bride by the hand and leads her to them, shirking the congratulations of the fawning Asgard nobility, despite all their trying. When the bride stands before her, Freya realizes that her suspicions were true. Under the make up she's sallow.

"My beloved, let me introduce you to my brother and sister. From this day on they will be your new family" Dolvar says. "He's Frey, my dear younger brother…"

"Frey… Nice to meet you…" the girl says with a forced smile.

Frey doesn't seem to notice it and kisses her hand. "The pleasure is mine, Your Highness. You're balm to the eyes and the heart…"

"And she" Dolvar continues "is my little sister Freya…"

"Freya…" whispers the Princess.

"Yes" she replies. "We have the same name. But you already knew my brother and me. Can't you remember? At the Procession of the Lost Ones, last years."

The smile of the Princess grows slightly warmer. "Of course… I recall you… You were by the High Priest's side…"

Freya looks Dolvar in the eye. "Right. They say that you fell in love with each other on that occasion…" _Come on, you slimy snake… Show me your acting skills…_

But it's the girl who replies, now definitely cold. "Yes. It's true. It was then."

Freya would gladly pay all of her jewels to know what sort of devious pact those two share.

"Tell me, Freya…" She raises her gaze to Dolvar, as does the Princess. "Whoops…" the High Priest grins. "I must learn to specify to whom am I speaking from now on, should I? My dear sister, I only wanted to ask you if you needed some fresh men under you command. I've been told, by way of hearsay, that one of your servants has mysteriously disappeared…"

Freya holds her breath. He knows that she was spying on him. _Well. This means that from now on I'll play differently… Accuse me, if you can… I don't care… _"No, High Priest. The man you're talking about merely asked me a furlough to visit some relatives in Blue Grado."

Dolvar smiles mellifluously. "Are you really sure he managed to reach Blue Grado?"

His voice comes to her like a fist to the stomach. _They killed him… My power was not enough to protect him…_

"Are you feeling unwell?" the Princess inquires.

Freya regains herself and latches onto Frey's arm. "I'm not, Princess. Only… I'm starving. What about declaring the banquet started, O Highest Dolvar?"

The man sketches a bow. "As my dear sister wishes…"

22

She's bearing through it better than she expected… Seeing Hyoga, his icy stare, face hidden by the steel mask, she swallows her need to scream. Until the last moment she hoped that he would come to save her. She hoped that it was just a trick, that he was just waiting for the best moment to make short work of Dolvar and his suckers and take her away. It wasn't to be. _Hilda… please do something… don't leave me in this situation… _She wants to know what's going on in Asgard. Her Asgard. Meanwhile, she can't do nothing but cross the wide banquet hall giving Dolvar the arm and smile greeting each one of that bunch of woodcutters. The sister of the Priest, a girl with her same name… Freya is sure that she suspects the truth, and that there's a rift between her and her older brother. And this could be her only hope, as the girl has some kind of energy around her. Freya felt it keenly. _Could it be possible? Could it be it's _her_? But how could I ask her help? A single word from me would mean the end for Hyoga…_The God Warriors don't partake of the banquet. They stand around, imposing and solemn: the white-bearded giant sketches an awkward bow, then the albino youngster congratulates the Priest. Then there is him. Who says nothing, but glares at her coldly, as if he felt for her nothing but a deep contempt. _Please, regain yourself…_

"Come, my beloved. Let the feast begin" Dolvar says to her.

She nods. Her feet ache and she wants to sit. And her dress is awfully weighty. _Please, someone wake me…_

23

Freya is observing the royal couple as they step after step accept the homage from the aristocracy, as tradition demands. She and her brother have seats by the left side of the bride. Loki holds place of honour by the Priest's side. The man is openly satisfied. He keeps looking at the Princess like a preying animal. Soon Dolvar and his wife will sit down and declare the banquet open. Checking for Loki's prying eyes she places a hand over the chalice from which the bride will drink, unlocks the bezel of her ring and drops into it the powder she prepared a few hours in advance. _You're not going to be fertile this month, Princess Freya. This will be spared to you. And it will give me time to find a way of stopping Dolvar. Tomorrow I'll send warning to Athena of the danger upon her, hoping that the Priest will not intercept my message. He discovered that I had him under surveillance and will limit my movements…_

"What did you put into her cup, Freya?"

She turns her head to Frey. "Why, an aphrodisiac. Present for the happy couple."

Frey shakes his head. "A girl of marriageable age like you shouldn't dabble with such potions…"

_Of course, Frey. As you wish. I would really love to be able to confide in you. Once we had no secrets._

Dolvar and the Princess finally take their place. The cup-bearer fills their chalices with wine. Dolvar raises the cup and toasts. "To the future of Asgard!" he says.

Everyone echoes his toast. She also does. Only the bride is silent. But she brings the wine to her lips.

_Way to go, little Freya… Drink… His dream of a heir will have to wait…_

24

She didn't say a word while the three women were taking her wedding dress off her. The youngest took an hour to undo her intricate hair style. She even seemed frightened when she realized that she had pulled her hair.

"Forgive me…" she had said.

Freya had not replied. She didn't accept help to take a bath. In the tub were floating perfumed petals that made her head spin. _I want to sleep… _She drunk too much, purposefully. She doesn't wish to be conscious tonight. _I'll ask him to have mercy for Asgard…_Her peach night gown caresses her skin. It's a very pleasant sensation. _All this… should have been done for Hagen… _The maids help her to enter inside the bed. Then they extinguish the lamps and leave her alone. _Shiny Freya, I beg you, render him so tired that he will not come to me tonight… _She knows it's illusory. That the Goddess of Love, her namesake, is not listening. Because as soon as she was beginning to believe it the door opens. The light coming from the window depicts the silhouette of Dolvar. When he lays near to her Freya realizes that he's wearing only a dressing-gown. _No… I'm not here… I must not think about it… _

"Freya…"

_Don't say my name… Don't say it…Don't say it…_ She clenches the sheets as the High Priest starts caressing her slowly. "Please…"

"What? What happens, Freya?" the man's voice trembles.

"Please… For Asgard… Spare my people and I'll do anything you wish…" She can't bear his proximity, but she allows herself to be kissed as howling pain burns into her belly.

"As you wish… of course… I'll give them the chance to surrender… It's a promise…"

_I wish I could die… _she thinks as Dolvar's hands rip violently the silk off her body. She doesn't want him to look at her, but he pushes the sheets away.

"Well, you're not that bony…"

She closes her eyes, clenching her teeth, trying to eject from her mind the thought of this man's lips taking possess of her body and marking her skin with their touch.

"Freya…"

_No, don't say it…_

"Open your eyes… I want you to look at me… I don't want you to think about you blond Saint…"

She complies. _Even this… I must look at you… _Dolvar weighs on her. She would like nothing better than to throw him off, but she's not strong enough.

"You're mine…"

She feels suffocating, as that horrible man has his way with her. She hates him, hates his panting, his movements, the smell of his skin, hates the loathsome sensation of having him inside, hates her helplessness, hates the thought of having sunk so low. _Hagen… Hagen, where are you?_... She knows that she shouldn't cry. But it's all too much for her.

"No… no tears…" Dolvar says, drying her eyes.

"I can't…" _Odin, let me die, let me die now…_

"Be strong, child…"

_Be strong… I'll kill you. I'll kill you for what you're doing to me… _She grabs his shoulders, moving under him. _Let's just be over with it quickly…_

25

He fills two glasses, one for himself and one for Freya. The girl has the eyes closed, but he knows that she's not sleeping.

"You made quite a scene, and you weren't even a virgin…" This doesn't matter the least to him. On the contrary, it took all scruples and delicacy away from him. A maggoty apple. But so beautiful… It was quite a long night. He wants to sleep. He'll make good of the pale winter sun. Sometimes all those hours of darkness can become useful. "Who would have thought that our Hyoga had the cheek to…"

"Leave him alone. He's not the one to blame." She spoke softly, still and with eyes closed.

_What are you thinking about, my wonderful bride?_ "Here" he says, offering her the wine.

She looks at him, then rises on her elbows and takes the glass. She drinks it all at once, then gives it back to him.

"Want some more?"

She shakes her head, refusing.

"Are you tired?"

"What? Haven't you had enough already?" the girl hisses.

He laughs. He toyed with her for hours, gauging his power. And now he's sure that Her Highness is his completely. She didn't shirk from anything. Dolvar doesn't mind her hatred. It's an useless feeling. Because anyway she's his property. And will carry his son. A wonderful son, who shall brandish Balmung. "I don't wish you to be sad, Freya. From this day on you'll have anything you want…" _Her hair… They're incredible… incredible…_

"Really? Then set Hyoga free, let me go and call your men back from my city." She said it ironically. She knows perfectly that he wouldn't give her that.

"Then, let's just say that you'll have _almost_ anything you want." Dolvar pours himself some more wine. It's a rare commodity there. Yet it is never missing at his meals. He hates beer. "Rest. Later I'll ask my sister to come to keep you company. Of course you'll have to be careful with what you say…"

"I know, I know." Freya pulls the sheets over her head. "May I sleep now?"

_Certainly, love, rest yourself… This is just our beginning… Your previous life doesn't matter…_

26

They've been chasing the rising sun. As the jet plane flies over icy Norway Saori feels very tired. Soon they will be in the no man's land where the radar goes crazy and no normal man has right to enter. The zone of Asgard. She's listening to her Saints' chit chat. In the end she followed Flora's advice. Jabu and the others greeted the news with enthusiasm. _This is good…_ June is talking with Flora. Neither has been in Asgard yet. For the first time Flora will fight for her. She's glad of it. It will tighten their bounds. But strangely she's starting to feel jealous about the friendship that's budding between her and Chameleon Saint. Shaina returned to Greece in all hurry. She said that she was going to join them as soon as possible with her Cloth. _You don't have to, my dear…_ With all her good will, she's satisfied by her absence, happy to have Seiya only for herself. She doesn't know how things are proceeding between them. Anyway, she's learning to curb her own illusions. _Right now I must only save his life. Nothing more. _He's telling a joke to Shiryu. It's about Shunrei… She would like to tell him to spare it. But Shiryu can fend for himself. He asked her a few months and she granted him his request. Shunrei returned to Goro-Ho. Saori knows that she would wait for him indefinitely.

"Is everything ok, my lady?"

Shun sits by her side, and she smiles at him. _Our resident angel…_ "Yes, except for my worries for Hyoga…"

Shun's face darkens. "Do you think he's really in danger? Perhaps he's merely unable to contact us…"

Saori caresses his hair. She knows that he's trying to lift her spirit but that he's in fact more worried than her. The bond between he and Hyoga is very strong.

After a sudden blow the plane appears to lose height. When the situation returns to stability Saori looks out of the window.

"Hey, what the hell is that?" cries Nachi.

Then Saori sees it, similar to something out of a horror film. A string of sharp teeth, reptilian eyes, scaled body… and wings… Saori jumps over Shun not too gracefully. She reaches the pilots' cabin and approaches them. "What's happening?"

"We've been hit by… by that thing…"

_Dragons… Is it possible? _She must think quickly. Another such blow could damage the plane. "We are leaving the plane now. You just return back." The co-pilot looks at her perplexedly. "I'll contact you later. Just leave the area immediately…" It's risky, but there's no other option. _Athena… It's her again… It's she who decides…_

"Boys, we're going" she says, rejoining the others. "Put your Cloths on. Geki, open the port. We're still a few miles away from Asgard. We'll have to proceed by foot."

Nobody comments. Shortly afterwards they are fully armed. Cold air enters from the port. Jabu jumps first, followed by Flora. She goes to Seiya. "Will you help me?" she asks.

He smirks and passes a hand around her waist. "Hold me tight…"

She latches onto his neck. _Let me daydream for a while… I love you… There's nothing I could do about it…_

He jumps. Only void surrounds them now. _Like that time… When you are with me I fear no thing…_

27

He's furious. Since daybreak they've been assaulting Asgard-By-The-Sea. Were he able to direct the operations the town would already have fallen. But Queen was joined by that arrogant Valentine and he found himself below in rank to both. Plus, an Asgard messenger just gave him an absurd communication. "Spare everyone who surrenders." _Is he going mad? Could the Highest Dolvar have gone mad?_ It won't take long now. The besieged people defend themselves with boiling oil and incendiary arrows. But they strike from above… The dragons are hungry. Tomorrow he'll be carried to the main square with his best men. They will strike from within. Mercilessly. So much for sparing who surrenders. Lasse looks skyward. An extraordinary energy hit him in full. "What is this?"

Queen sniggers by his side. "Athena is here. And we'll divert her towards Asgard-Parva…"

Athena. The Greek Goddess. He wants to face her Saints at any cost.

"Queen Hilda will try to contact her. And we'll let her do it" continues Queen.

_Why? Could anyone explain me why?_ But Lasse knows the futility of such questions. For now he has to be satisfied with the battle at hand. It's enough to dispel his bad mood. _They are screaming like crazy…_ he thinks, savouring the inebriating taste of the cries echoing beyond the walls of Asgard-By-The-Sea…

28

They're still far from Asgard, but the cries reach them. She asked Flora to give her a mirror. A mirror to communicate with Hilda. Cassiopeia modelled the snow so that it could lead her eyes through the besieged city. Because it is. A full-scale siege. Hilda, watching her city from the ramparts...

_Can you hear me?_

The woman turns around.

_Yes, it's me, Athena. What's happening?_

The sovereign's puzzled expression fades quickly. _Athena… Is it really you? Asgard-Parva is about to take the city… The Priest Dolvar kidnapped Freya… Hyoga went looking for her…_

_Asgard-Parva? What's Asgard-Parva?_

Flora's cry interrupts their contact. In front of Saori is now only a small heap of snow about to melt.

"What's going on? What befell you?" Saori kneels by her side. She's shaking, but not because of cold. She replies in a whisper. Only she is able to hear it.

"Spectres. The army of Hades. They are here. I can feel them."

Saori clenches her teeth. _Just like I thought… _

"What are we going to do now?" Seiya asks, but before she gives him a reply a platoon of marching men comes in front of them. They're not more than five-hundred and immediately her Saints surround her defensively. But Saori instantaneously realizes that they're not invaders. They all wear blue plate and white mantles. A tall, flaxen-haired young man steps ahead. Their commander, naturally.

"I am King Alexer of Blue Grado. Identify yourselves."

Saori doesn't know whether she should worry or not. All considered, she chooses to be straight. "I'm Pallas Athena, daughter of Zeus and only ruler of Attica."

The man grins. "Splendid. Only a few months ago we could have been enemies but now… I'm really glad to see you."

29

They lit fires, uncaring that the smoke could reveal their presence. The beasts still flying above them noticed them long before. Saori quietly listens to Alexer's words.

"My sister Natassia has not come back. My first thought was that Queen Hilda was going to declare war against us and decided that she could be useful as hostage. It seems that I was completely wrong. It's Hilda that's under siege. From Asgard-Parva. Then, I have no choice but offering my help to the sovereign…"

_Asgard-Parva… What a silly mistake I did… I thought we were bound for Odin's realm… Instead it's just a squalid civil war… and I… will be the ally of this man… this man who killed his father mercilessly…_

Saori starts as a dove lands on her shoulder. She takes it in her hands and discovers that there's a parchment attached to its leg. Unfolding it she realizes that it's a map depicting a path leading to Asgard-Parva. _A gift from Hilda…_ Saori looks Alexer in the eyes. "Your help will certainly answer to Hilda's needs. More, I'll leave here some of my Saints with the task of entering the city to organize a resistance from within. In the meantime I'll reach Asgard-Parva with three of them. One of my men is probably a prisoner there. It's Hyoga. I'm sure that you remember him.

The man nods.

_How could you have forgotten him? He was witness of the horror perpetrated against your family… And he spared your life only because he didn't want to see your sister aggrieved…_

"Rather, my lady, that dove… Of course they allowed it to reach you. This could mean only one thing. In Asgard-Parva some trap is awaiting you…"

"I know, but it's a risk I have to take…" _I can't desert Hyoga and Freya, but this merciless man wouldn't understand it…_ "Could I ask you one of your chariots for the travel? I promise you that I'll be back soon to help you. For now… Good luck."

The man throws out a hand to her. Reluctantly, Saori squeezes it.

"Good luck to you, Lady Athena."

30

Her skin is reddened. She spent the whole morning brushing it vigorously, but she'll never be able to feel clean again. The only thing that strengthens her is the thought that she's doing all this for Hyoga. _After all I can resist. If he really will spare my people, if he really won't harm Hyoga then it will have been worth… But I want to see my sister. Even though I'll have to lie to her as well. Lies, lies always, unending. In the end I'll believe them too… That Hyoga is a God Warrior, that Dolvar is my husband and that to be with him I left Asgard…_ She's laying on the bed, looking at the ceiling and trying to rein her own emotions in. Nausea, disillusion, resignation. _I want to sleep, but I can't…He said that I'm free to roam wherever I want to… how stupid…_

She hasn't seeing anybody today. Even the maids made themselves scarce. This is why her heart beats when the door opens. _What new unpleasant surprise is in store for me?_

"You didn't even knock. Is this the respect you have for your lady? This time you are forgiven, but don't do it again…"

Freya turns to look at the door. The sister of the Priest is berating the maid who let her in. the evening before she barely looked at her. The maid lowers her eyes and leaves.

"Good afternoon…" the girl says to her. She's not much older than herself, yet her eyes are so ancient… "How are you, Your Highness?"

"Fine. And call me Freya…"

The other one giggles. "I'm sorry, I don't think I could." The girl sits by her side on the bed.

"Did the High Priest send you here? He told me he would have done it." She doesn't mind her presence. She has something to ask her.

"Indeed, Your Highness. But…" the girl fixes her intensely, "Do I have permission to be nosey? May I ask you if you are here on your free will?"

Freya grins bitterly. "Answer me, rather. You are _her_, right? The Shiny One…"

The girl tightens her lips. "Yes… So I believe…"

"I knew…" _How ironic… I was given your name as a blessing… I sent my prayer to you for my whole life… And now you're here and I can't ask you to help me…_

"I'm here to help you, Your Highness. But you have to tell me the truth. I don't believe that you love the High Priest like he proclaims. I believe, even better, I know perfectly that you're held captive and that all that he wants is power over your land… Now, say a word and I'll send you to safety…"

_Of course. At what price? Hyoga who kills himself because of me… No. This is what I deserve. For Hagen. Because his murderer occupies my thoughts. Yes, this is what I deserve. My little hell. Hagen is laughing about me in Valhalla. Because that day my eyes saw only Hyoga. _"No. I thank you for the kind interest. But here is where I belong. This is where I must be." _If you're really _her _then you know how I feel… _

"I don't believe you, Freya…"

"This is not my problem. Your brother will not hurt my people, he promised me. I'm sure that he and my sister will find a peaceful solution…"

The girl grabs her shoulders and Freya is amazed by her strength. "Listen, Princess; the High Priest is selling his own people to the Netherworld. How can you think that he'll be true to such a promise?"

_It doesn't matter. I must trust in him. And I want Hyoga to live… No matter the price I pay. _

"Why are you so reticent, Your Highness? Is he blackmailing you somehow? Did he tell you that Asgard-By-The-Sea will be destroyed should you disobey him?"

_Asgard-By-The-Sea… _"My city is called _Asgard_!" _It doesn't matter if you're a Goddess… I want you to mention us with respect…_

The girl lets her go. "Then look into my eyes and tell me that you're here for love, Freya."

She smirks. _It's easy. I don't even have to lie. _"I'm here for love. I'm here to stay. Close to the man I love. Whatever it takes. Even if my sister should despise me for it. Even if my name will be marred for it. I'm here for love."

The young Goddess sighs. "I wish you could think of me as a friend. Even though you will not trust in me. Can I expect you to accept it?"

"I told no lies." She would like to tell her everything. But she can't. _Captive. I can't do nothing._

"I know. And it surprises me. I should believe that yours was a wedding of love. Yet I can't."

"Don't use your power on me, Shining Goddess. In the past I needed your help. You weren't listening then. Now you'll have to find the answers you're looking for by yourself." She hopes that her companion could understand what she's trying to say. That communicating with her is not an option available. But that she's her only hope.

The Goddess rises. "Then I'll start to search." The girl drops a pouch by her side. "I'll be back to you when I'll be able to give you the help I denied you until now. And… be assured. You're not pregnant, Freya. Take a whiff of the powder inside this pouch a month from yesterday. And the same month after month. If you will not give him a child he could perhaps set you free."

Her relief is immense. She trusts her, and this means a problem solved. But she doesn't know how Dolvar could react should his heir not materialize. She will have to ponder carefully her conduct. But the offer of a way out is welcome all the same. _A child with Dolvar… _"I'll be waiting you. And thanks."

The Goddess smiles. "My duty. You've been consecrated to me."

Alone again, Freya feels more light. The Goddess' powers are not full. Probably the preternatural entity inside her has just reawaken. Still, her support makes her feel better.

31

Everyone is wrapped in heavy clothes, yet cold penetrates her bones. The chariot Alexer gave them is comfortable enough, but Saori is beginning to feel ill at ease. They're travelling along the coast of the Northern Sea when the statue of Odin appears on the horizon. _That city is a veritable copy of Asgard… _She brought along only Seiya, Shiryu and Shun, as planned from the start. She didn't like leaving Flora behind, but she had insisted. "Your favouritisms are becoming too manifest, Saori." She's sure that they have been successful in entering the city. Alexer is going to attack the besieging army from behind, a stratagem that Saori thinks foolish. They are already have been spotted by the dragons, and there's too few of them for such an enterprise to succeed.

"An Asgard doppelganger" whispers Shiryu. "Do you also feel this strange sensation?"

"Yes" replies Shun. "It's as if my energies were being drained bit by bit…"

_evil envelopes this place like a sudarium… _She's feeling very sick, like suffering from a strong fever. _My Cosmo is collapsing onto itself. I feel like dying…_

"Are you well?" Seiya asks.

She musters the strength to smile at him. "No, I don't. But we must go on."

Seiya draws reins when two men appear before them. _Let's hope we don't have to fight now… This air is making the boys weak…_

"Stop!" One of them cries, pointing his spear at them. "From here on it's Asgard territory. Who are you?"

Saori tiredly stands up. "Saints from Athens, asking for an interview with the High Priest of Odin."

The man looks at her sternly. Then he lowers his spear. "Come. I'll take you to the court."


	5. Winter II

32

Frey is feeling portentously well. He feels that Asgard has a bright future ahead. The feast lasted until morning, and he and Freya stayed at the Palace instead of returning home. The bride is gorgeous. He's sure that the High Priest Dolvar will be happy with her. As for Hilda of Asgard-By-The-Sea, she will soon accept the wedding and the eternal rivalry between the two cities will finally end. His sister visited the Princess, but he couldn't make her tell him the details. Even now Freya is ignoring him, lost in some alchemic treatise. He doesn't like to see his sister dabbling in such pastimes, but he hasn't got a way to stop her. From the window he sees the tear sky. The snow has not fallen yet, but the winter is going to be the coldest of recent years. Frey's gaze falls on the drawbridge, where a guard is escorting a group of four foreigners. Three men and…

"A sylph…" whispers Frey.

"What?" His sister raises her eyes from the book.

"We have guests" Frey replies. _Yes, and an enchanted creature is with them. I want to see her close…I want… _She seems beautiful, but from such height his eyes may have been tricked. _But I'm sure of it. It's the must beautiful girl I ever laid eyes upon… _"Freya, close that book, let's go and be good hosts…"

33

Alexer's men held well against the assault troops' impact. They cleverly scattered and infiltrated the camp. They seem a group of well-trained assassins rather than warriors. They strike in the shadow. One victim after the other. Valentine is worried. He hadn't reckoned with the arrival of the forces of Blue Grado. They're among them, hiding, and he doesn't know what trick they are using. They only managed to capture two of them, who promptly committed suicide before being interrogated. And Athena's Saints, using their speed, reached the city. According to the original plan Athena should have gone to Asgard-Parva with her men, instead seven of them are there and probably are organizing the resistance inside the city walls. Lasse is becoming difficult to control. He's raving because the city has not fallen yet. Valentine observes a map of Asgard-By-The-Sea.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking? That it's time to play in earnest?" Queen asks him.

"Yes. Seven dragons will suffice. Let's reach the square…"

34

She's exhausted. Checking Alexer's men one by one, making reflective their plate to allow them to move covertly inside the enemy camp is not a small task. She's very tired and welcomes the sparkling signal meaning that the incursions of today are over with relief. It would be safer for everyone if Alexer and his forces could maintain their sort of invisibility always, but she couldn't manage it. And… she felt the presence of Demons. It will not take them long to discover the trick she employed with the folks from Blue Grado. The only course is to face the besieging forces on the open field. But it will not be easy to gather the remains of the Asgardian army. But they must do it quickly. Before Alexer's men turn from hunters to preys… And the dragons… Athena's Saints will have to take care of them personally. Flora draws away from the mirror she used to follow the action. She's spent, not just physically. She hasn't taken her Cloth off yet when June enters the room Queen Hilda put at their disposal.

"How is going?" Chameleon asks.

"Well. But these incursions will not last long. We must do battle."

June nods. "We're doing what we can. Sadly, the army of Asgard is quite dismantled… You're tired, aren't you?"

Flora grins. "Is it so evident?"

"Yes. Now it's my turn to be on sentry-go with Nachi. Could you wait for me before eating?"

But Flora is barely listening. Because the flames are nearing. _No… Why is he here? Idiot. I know why he's here. He protects Athena. _"June…"

"What's up?"

"Ikki is coming… I don't want to see him…" _What is this terror now? I'm shaking… _She feels June's prying eyes on herself. "Please… Let me patrol in your place…"

"What?" cries June behind her impassive mask. "You're down to the last bean! And you'd do this for him? Look, you don't have to be like this… Where has your self-respect gone? What in the world you think could happen? You will greet him, then you'll be as friends as before. Didn't you say that you were going to downplay it?"

She would like to defend herself, to explain her reasons, to reply that she's not a coward at all. But she looks at her pleadingly. "I beg you…"

June sighs, then nods. "Alright. I'll keep him away from you. But I really don't understand you…"

35

_A sweet mouthful…_The Princess proved pleasant company in the end. She's still green but with his guidance it will not take her long to understand what pleases men… She gave him no more than a glance when he entered her room. Dolvar, however, hasn't got time to second her mood swings. Because Athena has just entered his residence. Dolvar ordered for her the most courteous welcome. Now the young Goddess and her men are resting. Precisely an hour from now Dolvar will grant them the audience they desire. Everything is proceeding splendidly. Now he must assure himself that little Freya will not deal him a low blow. Her Highness is combing her hair, ignoring him carefully. "Did you receive my gifts?" asks Dolvar.

She nods.

_Shrew… Jewels, dresses… They're not enough to bend you, sweetie? _"Goddess Athena is here…" he cuts short. Freya puts the comb down. _I know. You're beginning to hope anew…_ "It's easy to see what brings her here. Your kidnapping and the vanished Cygnus. And it's just as easy to see that your mind is racing. But… you are aware of what could happen should you utter even a single wrong word, do you?"

Freya gets up. Dolvar is amazed by the pride in her eyes. Still, he is firmly resolved not to be intimidated by that slip of a girl. "Should she suspect something, Athena would launch her Saints against us. Should this happen, I'd be forced to protect myself calling the God Warriors. Every God Warrior. Hyoga, too. Can you picture it? He being killed by his brothers… or maybe not. He could overcome them. And bring me the head of a former comrade of his."

"You're revolting, you know?" the girl hisses.

Dolvar grins. "My precious, you didn't find me that revolting last night. I have had enough women to…"

"This means that women always simulate with you."

He's absolutely impassive as he strikes her face. Freya falls. "Remember your position. I've been kind and tolerant with you until now. Now playtime is over. Be a good girl, Freya. I want you to be highly convincing in the presence of Athena. Be careful not to make mistakes…"

Freya regains her feet and looks at him with the same pride she had before. "I'm not an idiot. I know what is at stake. You don't have to repeat this yarn over and over…"

"So much the better. I'll be waiting you an hour from now in the main hall, my lady. And don't let our guests wait…" Dolvar turns on his heels and goes to the door.

"I want to see you dead, Dolvar…" the girl mumbles.

He smirks as he leaves her room. _You'll never be so lucky, Your Highness…_

36

They tried to attack him. Yet he reached the Asgard walls. His retirement lasted less than he thought. Athena's Cosmo is vibrating with worry. He felt it from his Death Queen Island refuge. _Next time it will be better_, he had told himself before setting afoot. But he reached the wrong destination. Athena and the others aren't there. June told him everything about the disappearance of Hyoga and the raging war. _Well… I must join the others then… But…_His belly protests. He can't get rid of hunger cramps. It's odd. Even though Shun's illations are unfounded. Badinage. Shun knows nothing. It can't be happening to him. Not with a girl like her. So different from the only girl who ever touched his heart. _Esmeralda, such a delicate flower… and… nothing to do with her… Flora misses just a sign on her forehead saying "Undertaker" to be complete…_ "Flora is here?" he asks June. _Physical attraction. It all comes down to this. I'm sure of it._

"She's on patrol" June replies.

"Well, say hello to her for me…" _Got to reach Athena. I'll search the truth about myself another time… _

Ikki leaves the palace and goes to the city wall. He will have to cross the enemy camp again, and it will cost him time.

_Not necessarily… _Once again Flora's voice introduces inside his mind.

_Where are you?_ He wants to see her. No reason to pretend otherwise.

_They will not spot you if you'll let me work over your Cloth._

_Where are you?_ She doesn't want to see him, and he knows why. He's been a real creep. _Flora… I shouldn't have left you like that…_

_Doesn't matter… Let it go. Now go on, off you back, disappear. No one will see you…_

Cassiopeia's power engulfs him. _You and your diabolical tricks…_ He passes the enemy camp like a ghost. He turns to give the Asgard walls a final glance and he thinks to see her, over there, on the towers, Cloth shining and dark hair moving in the frosty breeze. Then he goes on his path. _It seems like all I can do is to turn my back on you over and over… Take care of yourself, Flo…_

37

_She's wonderful… _The girl in pink is even more gorgeous than he had thought glimpsing her from the window of his room. "What are they saying?" he asks.

"Sssssshhh… Let me hear…" Freya gestures for him to be quiet.

They are hiding behind a secondary door. He doesn't wish to perturb the High Priest's conversation with Goddess Athena. Goddess Athena herself… Loki is on his knees by Dolvar's feet and Frey doesn't like the way he's gazing at the young Greek Goddess… _Could it be that he's going to do her harm? Would he dare?_ He feels an instinctive impulse to protect her. _She's so beautiful… Nobody should hurt her… _

"Don't push me, Frey" his sister complains. "By Odin, we're eavesdropping like two common maids…"

"We always did when we were children…" Frey remarks. Then he starts again to look at the most handsome guest. _Will those three boys be able to defend her?_

Dolvar kisses Athena's hand. "My lady, it is a great pleasure having you here… Could you tell me what brings you to do me the honour of your presence?"

"I have two reasons, High Priest. First, I'm here on behalf of Polaris Hilda. From what I've been able to see you're besieging her city after kidnapping Princess Freya…"

_No… Even Athena was misled by Hilda? What a soothing voice she has…_

Dolvar seems to ponder for some minutes. Then he crosses the room with great strides. Frey realizes that he's nervous. The Priest returns back to again face the Goddess. "My lady, Princess Freya and I were in accordance with each other. It wasn't kidnapping, it was elopement. As for the siege on Asgard-By-The-Sea… I'm just making myself sure that the Queen will not come here to reclaim my wife."

"Your wife?"

Athena's puzzlement is excessive to him. _If only she could see what a nice couple they make…_

"Your wife? What, are you joking?"

It was the white-clothed Saint who spoke so insolently. He's just a kid.

_Are all the men of Athena's Sanctuary like him? _

"Why does it seem surprising to you, Seiya?"

_Here comes the cavalry…_

Dolvar's bride enters the hall with the haughty step of a queen. She's dressed in black and silver and looks much more adult than the preceding evening. She joins the Priest and grabs possessively his arm. "Dolvar is my husband. We got married yesterday and… despite the fact that this is not in the least your business, tell my sister to leave me alone. I'm not going back. I want to stay here. With him."

"Are you serious, Freya?" Athena is perplexed but the Princess doesn't seem to harbour doubts.

"Indeed. And I don't like your astounded expression. I love this man. I want to be with him. It's all."

_Good girl…_Frey is proud of Her Highness, she's defended her choice fiercely.

"This is fine for me, Freya, if this is really what you want, but… I was wondering if you had news concerning Hyoga. I lost track of him right around here."

_What is this?_ Frey asks himself. _Who's this Hyoga?_

"Hyoga? And what could he have come here for?" Her Highness asks.

Athena sighs. "I suppose the answer is no."

"Forgive me, I have to leave now. I hope that you'll stay at least for dinner." The Princess hugs Dolvar around the neck and kisses him passionately. "I'll be waiting for you later."

_Yes, they're so beautiful together._

As Her Highness quits the room the Priest gives the arm to Athena and leads her to the balcony he usually speaks to his people from. Tonight the Goddess takes the seat near the one of the Lord of Asgard, the one for his consort, empty from a long time. At a signal from Dolvar a servant fills two chalices of wine but Athena refuses hers waving a hand.

"Will you tell me the second reason of your visit? I guess it's about this Hyoga…"

Frey is not really listening to the story. Loki's attitude is still making him worry. His gaze, sharp and hate-filled… even the Saints of Athena realized that something's wrong. The one called Seiya, then, didn't hesitate to quarrel with him. _Yes, I must take Athena away from him… _When the Goddess takes her leave from the Priest, Frey is shaking. Because Dolvar ordered Loki to escort her to the border.

_Bad idea… I can't leave her alone with him…_ "Freya, if you love me support me now. Athena and her cohorts will be our guests…" Then, with utmost nonchalance he shoves her inside the hall.

38

_Please, Hyoga, awake from this spell. She's Athena. Does she really not matter anymore to you? _

Freya watches Athena and her men, escorted by Dolvar's siblings, from a window. The God Warriors seem to be waiting for them. Even from that distance she can tell that they're holding an attitude of defiance. Even Hyoga. He is standing before Shiryu haughtily.

_Shiryu... It's him… You can't fail to recognize him. Save us both…_ But the God Warriors leave and Athena and her Saints disappear among the imposing buildings of Asgard-Parva.

"What are you watching with such interest? Our guests?" Dolvar arrives from behind her. Ignoring him is becoming increasingly difficult. "My brother offered to be their host… I believe that divine Athena struck his fancy very much. Speaking of her, I have to congratulate myself with you. You've been convincing. Very convincing. That kiss was very warm."

_Shut up…_He's too close to her. She cannot stand him. And the thought that she will most likely have to suffer his embrace tonight also disgusts her.

"I'm sorry for striking you before. Does your cheek hurt?"

"No. But tomorrow it will be swollen." She doesn't care that he hit her. It helps her to hate him even more. His mockery of kindness is insufferable to her. She's aware that to him she's but a reproduction mare. His posing as doting husband is grotesque. _I'll pay you back in spades, Dolvar… Although the grime you stuck upon my soul will never go away…_

"If there's a way to make you forgive me…" the man says.

Freya draws away from him. "There is no such a way. Now forgive me, I'm going to my rooms."

39

As panic strikes the drill-ground where Jabu was checking the equipment of the makeshift army put together in a single day, Flora was slow to react. Because the beasts gliding upon them are terrifying indeed. But they don't spit flames like the dragons of legend. All considered their strength lies in the fear they induce. It's their riders who shoot with conventional weapons once low enough. The largest beast seems to have pinpointed her.

"Jabu, make sure that these sheep don't run! It's time for them to show their will to fight for their city!" she shouts.

The beast approaches at impressive speed. She doesn't move. She raises a hand in the direction of the animal. She brings her concentration to the highest level, then a silvery cascade surrounds the dragon. The dying beast's cry is chilling but it soon dies out.

"Out of my way!" Flora cries as the body of what until a moment before had been a prehistoric reptile crashes to the ground. A colossal statue of reflecting glass that immediately disintegrates into millions of shards. The rider looks around, flabbergasted.

"Look look… Nothing but a man…"

The people of Asgard returns to the square and surrounds the lone enemy.

"The dragons are mortal and their masters… Here is one" Flora explains. "You can beat them. You just have to try."

The remaining six dragons leave.

"I bet they're afraid now…" Jabu remarks.

_Sure. We took them by surprise. Now we'll see how the demons among them will react…_

40

He politely suggested to Dolvar to entrust Athena to the care of Freya and happily his brother found nothing to object. _Perfect. I'll take care of you, my gorgeous Goddess…_ His heart begun to race when the Athenian girl laid eye on him asking for his name. _Yes, your sweet face is something one couldn't forget… Why is your presence so familiar? _It was Freya who made him regain his mind pointing out his rudeness. _Damn, I've been a fool… _Bowing, he introduced himself, then he gave his arm to the girl. "I'm Saori Kido" she had said. _Saori Kido… I'll never forget it... I wish you would stay forever… But sadly I have no choice but sending you away…_ He's scared for her.

"Bring Athena a message from me, as soon as she'll be ready for dinner" he tells his sister. "Tell her that I'll find her Saint at any cost. But she and her men have to leave Asgard tomorrow morning…" The night is cold as ice and still. He wraps himself better into the bear skin, already bemoaning the warmth inside his house. "Now return inside, or you'll freeze" he says, kissing her cheek.

Freya's eyes probe him. Something is dividing them. Their wonderful tie is growing thin. Freya, silent Freya… How long has it been since they have talked last? About themselves, their lives… _It's a promise, little sister. We're going to be as we were again…_

"Where are you going, Frey?" the girl asks him.

"Back to court. Then I'll help our men with the search. But for the time being there is something I have to make clear with the High Priest."

His sister lowers her gaze. "I wish you would remain here, Frey."

She's worried. And he understands her. There's some strange energy in the air. A malevolent force. But he cannot think about himself now. He's got to tell Dolvar what he suspects. "Don't worry, Freya. Return to our guests. And… I love you, Freya. Immensely. You're a part of me, you know?"

_What a strange sensation… It's as if I was telling you farewell…_ Freya hugs him. She's so small… He always took care of her and wishes to keep doing so. The angst will dispel tomorrow, surely. When he and his sister will laugh about it together.

41

_I knew it was going to happen. _Lasse is seething. The doors of Asgard-By-The-Sea opened, and Hilda's army has come to the field. They are well-armed, but loosely organized. But the surprise factor played into their hand. His men are in a panic. And Alexer of Blue Grado attacked them from behind, coming out of the shadows. The dragons are falling one by one. A mysterious force is turning them into glass sculptures who break into pieces as soon as they touch ground. _Athena's Saints… Those kids did all this… _

"Don't lose your temper. All is not lost" Queen tells him, pouring herself a drink.

Lasse puts the helmet of his armour on. He will enter the fray, ready to give no quarter. This notwithstanding the High Priest Dolvar's order of sparing who surrenders.

"I'm going" he states. "And I'll be back only with the Queen's corpse as trophy."

The glances of the pair of demons upset him. As if he could lose his soul by their mere company.

"The dragons, Lasse…" Valentine whispers. "I know what power prevailed on them. There must be a woman with the Saints of Athena, a woman wearing a Cloth seemingly made of mirrors. Bring her to me alive. I've been ordered to take her back to my mistress."

Lasse assents. He would like to ask him about the identity of his mistress, but he's got no time. The battle is calling him.

42

Dinner was wonderful, yet Saori didn't enjoy it in full. The physical uneasiness she's experiencing because of the malignant aura pervading the place has somewhat subsided, but the anguish she feels didn't. She thought long and hard about the situation. She will have to say to Hilda that her sister doesn't wish to return. She's sure that Freya was lying, but doesn't know why. A single word would have been enough, and she would have taken her away. Instead, she said that she loved the High Priest. As for Hyoga, he seems to have vanished in the air. She knows that she must not lose hope. Yet her inability to perceive his Cosmo is causing her worries. _Still, something tells me that he's not far. I don't know why, but I know that it's so. Why, then, doesn't he contact us?_

Their hostess is serving some herb liquor in the living room. She and her brother have been extremely polite. But now the girl incited them to leave Asgard-Parva tomorrow morning, promising them that young Frey will find Hyoga. Saori paid no heed to Seiya's protesting. An accomplice silence passed between the two girls.

_We're of the same ilk, right?_

_I need to talk with you… _it's her unsaid answer.

Saori stands up. "Freya, do you think you could please show me your house?"

The girl nods. Saori gestures for her Saints to stay where they are. The northern Goddess wants to talk privately.

43

_Where do we come from? What are we really? Why us? Why men choose a God, a Heaven, a Hell instead of another? What sets me apart from this girl? Are the celestial Asgard and the Olympus the same place? Or do the Gods divide the space they've been allowed? Allowed by whom?_

"Athena, the man your Saint encountered in Siberia was a servant of mine." Freya knows that it's not the right moment to harbour theological questions. The Greek Goddess is listening to her silently, in the corner of the palace where she and her brother use to gather and talk. A small living room, still full of toys discarded years ago. "I tried vainly to protect him. Dolvar's men killed him."

Athena closes her eyes. Her flawless features seem lit by a mystical light. _Killing you would mean to condemn the world. _

"Dolvar is cradling a foolish plan of conquest. His wife… is here against her will. He's holding her tied to himself in some mysterious way. But surely you already understood that…"

Athena nods. "Of course. In fact, we won't leave without her and Hyoga… Your brother is like you, right?"

_If Frey is a God…_ Freya sighs. She would like to believe it. But she's starting to doubt it. He's excessively blinded by his devotion to Dolvar. Talking about her brother hurts her. The way they parted tonight had a tinge of finality. She knows that her anguish will not leave until Frey will be back home. "Athena, Dolvar promised your life to an infernal God called Hades. Perhaps Asgard is bound to fall into the darkness, but you have to keep away from the High Priest. Don't put him in the position to strike you…"

Athena looks at her intently. Freya knows that she's carefully weighting her words, but she doesn't look scared. "If things are like you say, Dolvar must be stopped. He can't be the Voice of Odin on Earth anymore…"

Freya balls her fists, wondering why is it that hard for her to make herself understood. "I'm not asking you to save us, but to save yourself!"

The Goddess smirks, and her beauty becomes almost overwhelming. "I never flee, Shiny One. If Dolvar wishes to defy me, I'll accept. I don't question Frey's ability to find out something about my Hyoga. But I can't leave knowing that the Princess is still here."

_Don't do it… _She's so determined. Freya wishes she could trust her, but her own fear is too strong. "The people of Asgard… If only I wanted to all power would switch into the hands of me and Frey overnight. I should only make myself known… Say a word and I will…"

Athena shakes her head. "Do you want an internecine war? Your followers and Dolvar's followers butchering each other?"

_If this is the price, yes. It's horrible… I only wish Asgard could have a peaceful future…_

"Believe in me, Freya. I promised to Polaris Hilda my help, thus I must take a stand against your older brother…"

Freya lowers her eyes. _Poor Frey. You wanted her to go away tomorrow morning… Sadly she doesn't plan to leave… _"You said 'my Hyoga'. Is he special to you?" _What a vain question… As everything collapses around me I'm worrying about the mortal feelings of a Goddess…_

"They are all special to me" Athena replies. And she feels incongruously relieved.

"Good. This will make Frey happy. Maybe I shouldn't tell you, but my brother has fallen in love with you…"

_Frey will have my head for telling her about it… But, if I can help him, I surely won't hold back…_She's still waiting for Athena to answer in some way when someone knocks heavily at the front gate of the villa.

44

_What are you looking at out there? What are you searching for, Princess? _The room has taken her perfume, as if she had always been living there. And to Dolvar it feels like she had always been by his side. By his side. In reality Her Highness is terribly apart from him. An instrument of power. This is what she was meant to be. But her reluctance dizzies him. The more the girl's hatred for him grows, the more he feels drawn to her. She keeps on looking at the emptiness outside, when Dolvar approaches her. This will be the night of his total triumph and he wants to share it with little Freya. Loneliness had never been a weight… He's got trusted men to talk with and disposable women to warm his nights. But now he realizes that something was amiss. Something that only that girlie could give him. _Odin made you for me, I know… Every time I'm close to you I realize that you're a gift from the Gods_…He surrounds her waist with his arms. She quivers, but doesn't resist. _You're learning… But I want you to come searching for me. Some day, Freya… Even your soul will be mine…_

"I hoped that you would have kept me company. You can't go on dining alone." She remains silent. Dolvar puts his face in her hair. "Tomorrow the world will be yours, Freya. Tomorrow I'll give you the sun… Just say a world and my kingdom will be at your feet…" Words are coming out unchecked from his mouth. The rational part of his mind is screaming, yet losing the fight. "I would give my life for a smile from you…"

When she finally speaks her voice is trembling. "Swear it. Swear that you will die and I'll smile for you…"

He hadn't felt so hurt in thirty years, since when his father looked at him, disheartened and disappointed because he couldn't lift the heavy sword he had just received from him for his birthday.

"You would suffer less, if only you could really accept me…I want a kiss from you. Like the one you've given me earlier…"

But the Princess resumes her silence. And Dolvar feels his rage grow. _Don't refuse me. I won't let you._ He forces her to turn around and look straight at him. "Freya…" Her doll face is looking at him blankly. Only her emerald eyes glint with sorrow. "Smile at me, please…" He takes possession of her lips and she lets him do it. But she's simulating. He realizes that the girl's gestures are mechanical. A kid. Should he allow it, she'll turn him into her own puppet. Dolvar knows it. Tomorrow he will regain control of his life. Tomorrow. When absolute power will be his and he'll see that young girl for she really is. A mean to power. She's totally passive even as he drags her to the bed.

"Give me a son, Freya…" He doesn't even take her clothes off. He's too much in a hurry. He lifts the heavy gown while Freya's eyes meet his own. "Give me a son… A son that will rule the world… A son with your beauty…"

"A son… Pray that it doesn't happen…" she whispers while Dolvar takes her, stifling a scream. "A son… A son who will kill you… I swear, Dolvar… Plant your seed inside me and you'll be dead…"

He's not listening. _Ramble on as you wish, my love. He's going to be my weapon and will love me above everything. And you will love me as well. And you'll stop praying for my death. _He falls upon her panting. It's been too quick. He couldn't restrain himself. The child sends blood pulsing to his head. But he'll do better later. When Athena will be dead and he will have a reason to rejoice. She looks away from him. Her skin is icy.

"Are you cold?" he asks.

Freya throws him off herself and replaces the gown over her legs. He doesn't stop her. It doesn't matter now. He draws breath after breath looking at the ceiling. _I'll let her sister live. She will have to thank me at least for that… _

"What's going on?" he cries, hearing someone knock at the door.

"High Priest… Excuse me, but Lord Frey wishes to talk with you. He says it's about a most important matter…"

Under different circumstances he would send the servant who dared disturb his intimate moment with his wife to death. But such urgency from Frey surprises and worries him. _Trouble with Athena, perhaps…_

Dolvar emerges from the bed tidying his clothes in disarray. "Go tell Lord Frey that I'll see him immediately" he bellows. He then watches Freya, splayed on the sheets like a rag doll; it's a pose he finds totally lewd and totally candid. _Forever mine… _"See you later, Princess."

45

All that remains is that tiara. The guard told her that it was found in a fiord to the East. So, Hyoga never reached Asgard-Parva. Saori can't take her eyes off that piece of cold metal. The thin layer of ice covering it is slowly melting. Her hands are starting to ache from the cold but she doesn't have the courage to drop that thing. It's the only trace of Hyoga they have. The diadem is cracked in several points. Hyoga fought. And probably lost. _But where is he_ _now? _Seiya and Shiryu have put their Cloths on and went searching for Hyoga. Saori doesn't know how it could be of help. Something is wrong. Still, a piece is missing from the picture. Dolvar, Asgard under siege, Freya forced into marriage… _What could tie Freya to Dolvar?_ She knows that the answer she's looking for is there, very near._ Is Hyoga Dolvar's prisoner? Is this the way he's forcing Freya to second him?_ Saori looks at Shun, her silent guardian angel. "Shun, I'm going to propose you something very risky…"

He nods. Saori knows that he would give his life for her. As he would for Hyoga.

"By tomorrow morning we must return to court, with some excuse. I fear that Hyoga is held prisoner… Do you feel up to the task of finding him? Of being alone against all of Dolvar's men?"

"Of course." He didn't hesitate. He's not afraid anymore, her Shun, not even of himself, of his own strength… "Only, I think I should go alone. My lady, you should stay here, safe…"

Saori shakes her head. "I can't. I must face the Priest of Odin openly. I want all this to be over, therefore I can't pull out."

Shun doesn't seem to be agreeing, rather he looks worried. But Saori doesn't have time to make him heart.

"Visit for you…" Freya announces.

From her expression Saori realizes that things are turning to the bad. The man at the door is a guard from the palace. When he announces that Hyoga has been found and is waiting for them at court Saori's heart skips a beat. _He's lying, _she thinks.

_He's lying_, Freya's thoughts echoing her own. Saori exchanges a glance with Shun. This is the occasion they had been waiting for.

_Don't go_, the voice of Freya pleads her. _It's a trap. You know it's a trap…_

_I must_, Saori replies. _Thank you for everything, Generous Freya._

_Go with Odin, Just Athena._

Saori accepts her blessing gratefully. She knows that she will need all the assistance available.

46

He sent for Athena. He wants to cut it short with her. He hopes that she will swallow the bait. She didn't strike him as too bright. It will be a quick thing. Just closing his hands around her slender neck. Meanwhile he's listening to Frey's drooling. He's kneeling at the foot of the throne and is spitting venom on Loki. _Odin gave you beauty, but was tight-fisted with grey matter, little brother…_Loki who wants to kill Athena… Loki who wants to conquer Athena's land… Loki… and his precious Athena. Frey's voice is heated. He's praying him to stop Loki. Dolvar finds it all very amusing. _What fighting spirit, Frey. And just because you're in heat for that girl. A pity that you got everything wrong… _He's been watching his brother for all his life, wondering how could fate be so unjust. Killing him would have been enough to make his life better. Reverential fear prevented him from doing it until today. Fear that the God sleeping inside Frey's body could awake to strike him. But Dolvar is not afraid of anything anymore. The God of Peace is not going to wake up. As for his beloved sister, she will soon get what she deserves. Frey has been talking too much. Despite the fact that he's missing target, he's too close to truth. And Athena's death will make him his enemy. _Let's get it over with… I'm tired of you…_ He tells Frey to stop talking. The boy raises on him his trust-filled eyes. He's sure that he will put everything straight. _What a child you are… Do you want me to protect Athena? To protect Athena from Loki?_ Frey takes his leave. He turns his back on him and starts to walk nave.

"Frey!" cries Dolvar. The power conferred to him by the servants of Hades pulses wildly inside him. _You're going to be my guinea pig. _The hatred he felt all his life is growing out of control.

The youngster turns back, and on his face amazement is replaced by fear. _You've got it finally. You understood what you are to me, little brother. This is for the words my father said when you were born, for your looks, for the power you are wasting and the years you've been pestering my life with your presence. _Dolvar strikes him at the neck. The boy cries and falls to the ground. _What now?_ He's alive. He could finish him off in an instant, but his anger is cooling off. He doesn't wish to disperse his power. Athena is coming.

"Loki!" he cries.

His right-hand man enters silently as a shadow and throws Frey and indifferent glance.

"You heard everything, right?"

The man laughs. "I've always known that he didn't like me very much."

Dolvar takes a moment to think. As soon as he will be done with Athena and her Saints he will get rid of Frey as well. "Take him to the dungeon" he tells Loki. "Then, forget about him."

Loki's leer is quite explicit. Dolvar is sure that he's going to have some fun with Frey before leaving him to rot. It doesn't matter. Because now he's got to think for little Athena.

47

They are wandering aimlessly on and on. Seiya asks himself what's the sense of rambling without a purpose around these mountains calling out Hyoga's name. There's no trace of Cygnus. Seiya is even starting to doubt that he's really here. Still, there's something wrong with this city. That priest, Dolvar, doesn't persuade him at all, just like his quick marriage with Freya. Then there's that slick Loki… Surely he knows something, and Seiya is inclined to kick the truth out of him. They've been going too far from where Hyoga's diadem has been found. But they can't abandon the matter now. Shiryu looks very disappointed, and when he proposes that they should split Seiya finds it's a good idea. Thus they will spare time. Because his sixth sense is telling him that they must find Hyoga tonight, lest it will be too late.

48

_Why?_ she keeps asking herself. _My people is shedding its own blood for Asgard guided by foreign warriors. How did we come to this? _The Queen is watching from above the slaughterhouse that Odin's land has become. She doesn't know yet which side shall win. But her people is dying. Dying because she wanted it. Because she left Asgard without its defenders. _I'll never pay enough for it. _She feels unworthy of her station. Odin is not by her side anymore. Odin has given his Robe to a foreign warrior to help him triumph over her. _Freya would be a better ruler than me. She had seen it coming. She had understood. Where are you, Freya? I couldn't even manage to take care of you…_

Silently Hilda leaves her room. _I can't allow others to fight for my people. _The castle has been reconverted into a field hospital. The women of Asgard care for the wounded. Their moans hit her ears. But she can't stop to give them the relief they wish for. _Soon the night will be over but the sun will be pale and low, as always… There is just one way to bring light into the darkness._

"Return inside, my lady. It's dangerous…" one of the guards still watching the castle tells her, but she pays him no heed.

_I'm tired of all this. I'm so tired… _Odin's statue is still sloping by the side. She didn't restore it. She wants it to remain that way as a reminder of the foolish war her madness started. But around the monument are now seven graves. _I lost you… I hope that Valhalla is a better place than here. Syd, Mime, Alberich, Fenrir… I don't deserve you. I don't deserve any of you. Thor… Hagen…_ The Queen reaches out to touch the cold surface of a tombstone. _Siegfried… look at me, my love… Asgard will regain the lost dignity, I swear it… _Hilda's eyes raise to look into Odin's stone eye. _If I'm still your Voice on Earth talk to me now, Father of All Gods…_

49

It's not his wounds what hurts more. It's not the bleeding wrists, locked into the ancient pillory what prevents him from moving. It's the eyes. Swollen, as a man's eyes never should be. Swollen for the pain. For the tears pulsating inside his head waiting to come out. He look at the floor without seeing it. And remembers. His brother's broad shoulders. So broad to be a comfortable seat to him and Freya. All around the castle. Laughing. Hanging by his neck. "I'll buy you a horse, Frey. A wonderful grey horse. An animal worth to a prince." The most rapturous joy. "Yes, High Priest Dolvar. Thank you, High Priest Dolvar!" Freya's soft disappointed voice. "Nothing for me, High Priest?" Dolvar, his wonderful brother, pretending to be thinking. "Left's see… Give me a kiss and we'll see what can be done…" His sister brings her lips to Dolvar's cheek. "So, I believe that Freya will have also a horse all for her… What colour would you like it to be?" "White!" the little girl cries. White… Why? Freya tried to tell him. That they had stopped playing long ago. He stabbed him in the back without mercy. _My brother… No, my father… He's been a father to me… And now… _The hatred he saw on his face is what hurts him most. For how long did he keep it under lock inside? _He hates me… My brother hates me… Why?_ Freya's suspicions, his own stubborn defence of Dolvar. _What will become of us now? What will become of Freya? What will he do to Freya?_ Then comes the thought of Athena. Now he knows who wants to harm the Goddess. But there's nothing he can do to warn her._ If only… If only…_

"Odin…" he whispers. _I don't know what will be of me. But give me the strength to break free. Even if I have to be destroyed for it. For Asgard… For my sister… For Athena…_ Suddenly he feels it, coming out of his heart, his soul, like an animal waking from an overly prolonged lethargy. Frey screams as his power deflagrates.

_Where have you been… where have you been… where have you been… Frey… Divine Frey… Keeper of the Peace… _Voices echo inside his head. _Who are they? Gods, spirits, elves? It doesn't matter…_ He feels the power take hold of his thoughts. Stone breaks against the strength in his arms and his mind becomes clearer. _Free. And now I know. Now I know how to save us all. This is my destiny. A God's destiny._

50

Daniel in the lions' den. Dolvar is imposing and she feels as frail as a dead leaf taken by the storm. A glance has been enough to realize that she's fallen into a trap. Now she repents even to have ordered Shun to go looking for Hyoga in the dungeon. The malignant aura surrounding the city is thicker inside the throne room and inhibits her powers. Her heart beats furiously but she knows that she can't afford to show her fear.

"Where is Hyoga?" she asks. It's time to be direct. She put herself in danger but doesn't wish to give up before knowing about the destiny of Cygnus. _The power this man irradiates is frightening. Even if I was to attack him now he would overcome me. I know this evil stench. I fought against it more than two centuries ago. And now it's back for me._ "What are you plotting? What is your real goal?"

Dolvar laughs. His face takes the unmistakeable expression of the lion who just reached the gazelle with his paws. "Congratulations, Athena. Now I can tell you. The Sanctuary and then the whole world will be mine once I'll kill you. I'll rule the planet in the name of Asgard and Odin."

_He's raving… How many times did I hear this all? Like Saga, like Hilda… Don't hide behind the name of Odin. The God chose you and you're smattering his image. _"This is not what Odin wants and you know it. You know it perfectly well." Her voice is firm. Suddenly she regained her self control. Triumph seems to vanish from the man's face. He still towers over her, but now he seems to be a statue made of pot. _It's my Cosmo. I'm getting my strength back and he feels it. _"I am Athena. And I can't allow you to go unpunished."

The man brings a hand to her throat. She doesn't wave. Athena, totally Athena. Saori Kido could well be blown away. But Athena's Cosmo will not be bent. She feels that aura of evil come out of Dolvar's hand. _I know it. This power is a gift from Hades. Do you think it is enough, pathetic mortal?_ "Kill me if you wish to. But you won't bend Athena. My Cosmo will live forever."

Energy crackles all around them. _You are afraid, Dolvar, aren't you? And well you do. _

The man cries. "Shut up, witch! It's true. Killing you wouldn't help. But I can do better. I'll send you to a place where your Cosmo will be locked. You'll not be able to contact your Saints. You'll be conscious stone, Athena. Your brain will be captive forever."

Now her fear is returning. Because Dolvar's Cosmo has become vermillion. A hot strong wind hits her in full. _Don't let him bend you, don't let him bend you, don't… _She feels like falling into darkness over and over. Athena is screaming inside her. And she sees what lies behind the Priest of Odin's façade. A knot of pain and hatred. Of loneliness and grief. The man's soul cries with her. _I wanted to be innocent. I was, once. Once we were all innocent. _She would like to reply. _Yes, I know. _But she can't. she doesn't feel cold despite wearing very thin veils. She cannot move. She knows only that she's' lying under the great statue of Odin. Like the figure- head of a ship before the God's features. _A figure-head… What a wit… Like the Nike of Samothrace… Congratulations… It's the most original trap I have ever fallen into._ She hears his laughter, wishing her to go mad. She cannot move her lips, can't close her eyes. She's vigilant yet imprisoned. Forever. She can only watch. Nothing more. _I should have told Julian that I love him… _she thinks. Then she realizes that she's been completely beaten. But she can't even scream.

51

Freya heard Athena's cry. So she ran out of her mansion. But when her gaze fell on the statue of Odin, up there, at the heart of Asgard, she realized that she undervalued the High Priest. The drakkar at the God's feet, like the one on which Erik reached the edge of the world… and at the prow, obscene mockery of a figure- head, Athena's tiny frame. Her hair whipped by the wind and the veils covering her are the only moving things. Odin's Shield, the mortal trap that Priests employed in the old days to render their enemies harmless… _When? When did Dolvar learn to use it? Who taught him the secret to reach Odin's Shield? _She closes her eyes and concentrates on the captive Goddess. _Can you hear me, Athena? Can you speak, Athena?_ For her mind is like slamming into a cold stone wall. Freya realizes that the Goddess' Cosmo is trapped as well and her heart sinks… _It's over… Where are you, Frey? At least you… _She doesn't close the door behind herself. Step by step she leaves her home. She will reach Asgard by feet. There, she'll sink a knife into Dolvar's heart, whatever it takes.

52

All around he can smell defeat. The soil is encrusted with blood and ice and covered with bodies. His men's bodies. Hilda's people are fighting to the last. Lasse knows that there will be relevant losses for both sides. But his defeat is already sure. He knows it, but can't order his troops to retreat. Dolvar put his trust in him and he can't do anything but repay it.

"Sir!" The messenger has just returned from the central front. He's exhausted and Lasse gives him some water from a canteen. The boy drinks it.

"Speak" Lasse incites him.

The boy dries his lips with the back of a hand. "Balmung, sir! It's been reawaken! The Queen brandishes it! She's coming here!"

Lasse lifts his gaze. Something is sparkling down at the camp. Something coming closer and closer. Lasse draws out his sword. _What bravery, Polaris Hilda…_

The Queen is advancing. Seven Saints of Athena are escorting her. He'd expected to see her in armour, like a Valkyrie from legend. Instead she's wearing an elegant robe lined with white fur. She's holding the sword to her chest. Odin's sword, a lethal ice gem, the Aesir treasure, the weapon of the King of All Gods in the hands of that frail creature.

The woman looks him in the face with steely eyes. "So, you are Dolvar's armed hand…"

Lasse brings the tip of his sword to the woman's throat. She doesn't move. "Do you want to duel, madam? Are you going to propose this?"

A strange blue light surrounds the body of the woman. _Odin is by her side, not by our…_ The Queen holds Balmung up. The holy metal touches his blade. As the hilt becomes incandescent Lasse lets it go. The few men he's got left are silenced. _I must do something, or they will all fall on their knees at her feet… If I'm quick enough… _Lasse draws the knife he carries around his waist out of its sheath. _To your throat, Your Majesty…_ He doesn't understand what happens. Something wounds him in the side. The pain is terrible and Lasse falls. The metal is pulled out of his flesh. The man fights against nausea. _If I lose consciousness it's over…_ The man who backstabbed him… The white mantle smattered with blood, light hair, Alexer of Blue Grado…

"Everything alright, madam? Is all this your doing?" the young ruler asks pointing at the desolation of the camp.

_Yes,_ thinks Lasse. _Her doing… Our army routed… her doing…_

"No, it was Balmug's doing" the woman says, and these are the last words Lasse distinguishes.

53

_Victory… _The word tastes bitter. Laughter dried into his throat leaving inside his chest a sense of oppression. The images the girl sent him as she passed through him to be locked inside Odin's Shield are stuck to him like molasses. Pain, regrets, innocence… _She saw… Athena saw… _His hands around his mother's throat. He didn't think for so much as a moment about the consequences it would have on his soul. Dolvar scrutinizes his shining armour. Soon will come the time to fight. Athena's Saints will not assist impassively to their Goddess' demise. From the large window of his room he can see his prisoner. Her fixed gaze, her inexpressive face. _She's suffering and cursing me… From this window Freya's spy threw himself into the void… Freya who disowns me… How could I blame her? She feels it… My hatred… _

Someone knocks at the door, and Dolvar commands him to enter. Loki is extremely tense.

"Did you see, Loki? Now it's done, don't you think?" The bitter taste inside his mouth isn't going away. _Where is it? Where is the joy of triumph? Where is my mother, where are my siblings? They loved me… The human foolishness… They didn't realize that everything I did was a pantomime… _

"High Priest…"

A strange laughter comes out of his throat. Frey and the trust in his gaze. When he realized that his entire world has always been a fraud, a moment before he struck him, the disappointment on his face hurt him like the blade of a knife. _If only I could… _"Free my brother, Loki. A few hours in chains have been more than enough…" _No. It's part of me. His adoring eyes, his affection… I want it back…_

"I wanted to tell you about him, in fact. High Priest, Lord Frey has escaped. But we're searching for him…"

_Escaped. _Again that laughter, making his entrails and mind ache. _Where is the way out? _"No, Loki, leave it at that. Send for my sister. As soon as Frey will be back we'll have a family reunion."

Loki watches him as if he were a madman. "High Priest… If I may be so bold…"

The arrival of the child from Asgard-By-The-Sea interrupts the man. Freya is in a huff and shoves him away none too gracefully. "Move off!"

Dolvar smirks. "Leave us alone, Loki."

The man nods and leaves the room. Freya watches him with angry eyes. "What did you do to Athena?"

_Explanations… I don't have any for you… I only know that I'm feeling like covered with dust… _"Freya, do you have memories of your mother?"

The girl remains silent, possibly she also thinks that he's lost his mind. Little, tender Freya. He wants to run his hands over that soft and perfumed skin again, but he couldn't stand her disdain.

"I asked you what have you done to Athena…"

Dolvar looks out of the window again. "Our dreams, Freya… They're at our arm's reach, and then we can see nothing else… The greatest king of this land, more than my father, who only despised me… Just that. Screw everything else. Not even a Goddess could be worthier than me." Athena and her blank stare. He knows that she will not be the real prisoner. Those eyes will keep gazing at him in silent condemnation forever. _Perhaps I've been the artifex of my own damnation…_"My God Warriors will fight tonight. Athena's life and the fate of Asgard will be at stake. And, my Princess, do you want to know? I don't give a damn. Should the whole city fall in ruins around me, should I find myself with but a handful of dust, it wouldn't matter to me. You go through all your life looking for something and in the end, when you're one step away from getting it, you realize that you don't want it…"

"Why don't you free her, then?"

Freya's question is so naïf and direct. But even now he doesn't have an answer for her. "Your Hyoga will be fine. He's a survivor."

"I didn't ask you this. Although I would prefer that he wouldn't fight his comrades…" Her voice is growing softer. The Princess is losing her combativeness.

"I would like to, Freya. But it's too late. Now I would gladly bargain my kingdom with a moment of relief." He hears her coming closer. Dolvar shakes when the girl pats his arm.

"Do it, then. Free her. Please. It's the last time I plead with you."

_Of course. For two days you've been crying, screaming, cursing… and pleading…An emotional storm for you, little princess… _"My father hated me, Freya. I was going to lose my mother as well, so I killed her. I raised my siblings with the sole purpose of exploiting them. Then, to top it all, I took you by force. How can you hope that I will listen to you?" She draws her hand back. "How tastes innocence like, Freya? I can't remember it. Perhaps it's something like Frey's gaze. Or like a smile of yours. I would really like to see you smile…" _there will be fight tonight. To the bitter end. _"I'm a warrior, you know. It's what I always wanted to be. I worked hard for it. But I wonder if, should I die tonight, there will be a place for me in Valhalla." Dolvar turns again to look at her. Freya is flabbergasted. "In the next life, Freya, I want to be born with blond hair and an elfin face. An elfin face to make you fall in love with me. Away with Richard the Third, Princess. I'm going to be Romeo. And you will not have to sacrifice yourself anymore." She watches him carefully. _You pity me. I understand. It's incredible. You loathe me yet you pity me. I can't stand it…_

"Yes, there is a place in Valhalla" the girl replies. "A single act of generosity will suffice. You won't have to die. It will not be necessary. You can put everything back in place. A word from you would be enough."

_Kid… Do you think it's easy? Do you want to go back home, Freya?_ Dolvar caresses her cheek. "No, I can't. You can't suffer me to touch you, right?" She bites her lips. "I can't do anything but go on until the end. One way or another tonight there will be a winner. Forgive this momentary lapse into weakness. I know that you don't understand. But I've got nothing left except for that absurd thing called coherence."

"Laughable." A bitter smile surfaces on the girl's features. "It was you who just said that this is not what you want…"

He returns the smile. "What I want stands in front of me, and I can't have it. So, I will have all the rest."

Freya lowers her eyes. "I can't remember my mother. She died giving me birth. But my sister says that I resemble her. Is this what you wanted to know?"

"You will not wish me good luck, will you?" Freya shakes her head. "At least stay here to keep me company until my moment comes."

Freya sits down quietly. _Her last stand has failed. Now her only hope is to pray for my death. In the hope that her hero will not strike one of his brothers. _

"Is she suffering much?" asks Freya.

"Yes" he replies. _Yes, Athena is suffering much… As we all do, tonight…_

54

He's crying her name out loud and she can't answer his call. She can feel his sensations. Guilt. Shun is berating himself for leaving her alone. _But these were the orders, Shun… To look for Hyoga everywhere inside the dungeons… _But his thoughts are clear. _My fault, my fault… I must save her._ He cannot feel her Cosmo. She's unable to send him her strength. His chains are leading him to her. _I must be some kind of freak-show… _Shun's expression mirrors her own miserable condition. As the God Warrior is blindsiding him she would like to warn him. The albino in the blue Robe. Saori feels his immense power. The man draws out his sword. Shun disposes his chains in defensive stance. Urd… So he introduced himself. _Please, Shun, do your best. _But he doesn't hear. And the blade of Dolvar's henchman cuts the chain as if it was butter.

"Next time I'll cut your body" bellows the man.

_No!_ Her mind screams as Shun is being attacked. _No! _But the utter helplessness she's experiencing doesn't even allow her to look away.

55

Dolvar turns his back to her. He keeps on looking at Athena's immobility under spell as if he himself had been turned into a gargoyle. His silence makes her uneasy, even though the fact that he didn't show propensity to touch her again cannot fail to make her feel better. "You can't suffer me to touch you, right?" She would have replied yes, that she could never learn to accept the forced intimacy he imposes her, that she loathes herself for what happened between them. But she got afraid. The pained meekness Dolvar showed could have turned into rage. So she didn't talk. Also, for a split second she pitied him, his hopeless meanness. She played her last cards. She thought that he could have listened. _How naïf… Things like that happen only in novels… The reformed Beast… Instead Dolvar will proceed with his absurd plan. Something… Something to stab him in the back with… _Every object inside the room is becoming a weapon in her fantasy. The candelabrum, the paper-knife… But she knows that she lacks the strength to overcome that big a man. As always she's in no position to act. The thought of Hyoga doesn't give her rest. He's out there and, probably, he's facing one of his comrades in the name of Dolvar. _There must be a way to stop him before he does something irreparable. _Her eyes look outside, toward Athena's unmoving form. _Not even you can help him, right?_

56

He immediately chose him. Instinct told him that the object of his proof of faithfulness would have been Shiryu. They looked into each other's eyes when Athena, accompanied by his Lord's siblings, left the royal palace. He saw a shadow of suspicion in Shiryu's eyes, but nothing more. Kido. Saint of Athena. It seems like a lifetime ago. Once he called him his brother. Now the word has no more meaning. He, Athena, the others… Straw men who soon will burn inside his mind as soon as he will have done his duty to Holy Dolvar. Young Dragon is looking perplexedly to the bottom of a precipice closing the road ahead of him. Midgard knows that he felt Athena's Cosmo vanish. It was unavoidable. It was like falling into the void. A sensation that certainly was shared by all the onlookers of the Goddess' fall. But he also knows that Shiryu's worries are coming to an end. Soon, thanks to him, he will not feel anything at all. Midgard comes out of the shadow of a tree and faces him. He wants to end it as quickly as possible. Then he will help the High Priest against the other invaders. Although he doesn't think his help will be needed. Nobody can seriously challenge the Voice of Odin. Just thinking about the miserable fate suffered by Athena dissipates any doubt.

Shiryu notices him. "It's you… I remember your Cosmo…"

Midgard laughs. _Idiot. You don't take notice of reality even when you crush into it. _He hesitates only briefly. Midgard takes his helmet and mask off. Facing a sentimental guy like Shiryu with an open face will provide him with a remarkable advantage. Shiryu's relieved expression appears to him grotesque.

"Hyoga… How good… You're well… What happened? You had us worried…"

_Idiot. Shake hand with me, companion of a thousand battles… Let's celebrate our meeting with a gesture of friendship. _

Shiryu takes his hand. Midgard perceives all his sensations clearly. _How affectionate Athena's Saints are to each other. And you call yourselves warriors? Well. Let's play. _It takes him only a few moments. Shiryu's arm freezes up to the elbow.

"You're going to lose this arm, you know?" Shiryu's amazement is complete. Midgard doesn't allow him time to ask questions. He throws him into the air before he could even take a breath. He drops on his back with a powerful knee. Had he been a common man such a blow would have been enough to break his spine. But Shiryu is a Saint and Midgard knows that to beat him he must attack again. His fists reach mercilessly the parts of his body that the Dragon Cloth leaves bare. Shiryu takes it all passively but in the end is forced at least to repair himself behind his shield. The unexpected gesture makes him lose his equilibrium but Midgard is on his feet again quickly. He knows what his former comrade is trying to do. He wants to put some distance between them, he wants to gain time, he wants to understand. _There's nothing to understand. I found my way. _

Finally Shiryu asks him. "Why do you want to fight, Hyoga?"

So he tells him. Even though he doesn't believe the other would understand. He tells him of the charisma possessed by the High Priest, of the strength of the God Warriors, of the power of Odin, of his final choice. Midgard feels the tension grow. The pride of Dragon has been goaded enough. A last stab will surely bring him into action. "I want your life, Shiryu… This will be my first mission…"

"No, Hyoga, stop."

_Here we are. I know how to uncork your anger. The woman you protect, the woman you cherish above everything, your most secret of dreams. _

"Probably by now Athena is also already dead, killed by our High Priest."

Shiryu is wild with fury. But Midgard realizes that it's not enough. _The blood tie… _He throws himself at him determined to break his passivity. He strikes him until the armour forged from the waters of Goro-Ho is shattered into pieces. A sparkle of reaction. Shiryu grapples with him.

"You're playing in earnest, Hyoga?"

_I recall… Those scuffles at Kido Mansion, seven years ago…_ Void opens under them. Midgard realizes that they're falling inside the precipice. The impact with the river is painful, yet insufficient to kill him. Instantly he realizes that his opponent is again standing into the shallow waters. _Mine. Now you're cornered. _The water around Dragon's legs turns into ice and finally Midgard discerns the fierceness of a warrior into his eyes. _Good. _His Cosmo burns full power. The Aurora Thunder Attack throws itself at Shiryu. This time Dragon reacts. _The Shoryu-ha… _Migdard thinks before the energy dragon changes into ice and strikes him in full. Pain nullifies his senses. He barely sees his opponent fall heavily into the water again. _Shiryu… what…_ Self-loathing. Guilt. Together. Unexpected and excruciating. Three faces inside his head before a fog veils his thought. _Athena… Shiryu… Freya…_

58

_Bastard. How dare you? How dare you so much as lay a hand on my brother? _He's just in time. The warrior with the blue armour is about to strike Shun with his sword. He's barely able to notice the flames devouring his body. Shun's smile is the greatest reward. Ikki helps him back to his feet. _You're so brave and strong, Shun. There's no way I could explain to myself why you cannot affirm yourself… _His brother is an enigma. Ikki knows that, should he really exert himself, he could easily overcome any opponent. But he leaves his potential untapped… What for? In the fraction of a second he takes to put his brother and himself out of reach of the blades thrown at them, Ikki realizes that it's not time for sterile speculation on Shun's nature. A new enemy… His weapons resemble large metal boomerangs. A moment later Shun is dangling in the void, hanging by his chain. But Ikki doesn't have the time to come to his help because his colossal enemy is towering over him. A giant with a grey beard and a thundering voice, telling him to submit before Odin. _It would be pointless to explain that my soul belongs only to Athena. Let's just hope that you have a brain to work with. _The Genma-ken hits the giant's mind. _Good. You want me dead, you'll see me dead. Your blades planted inside my chest. But only for a moment. Now look at reality… _The giant falls heavilyon his back, impaled by his own blades. _Useless behemoth… _Ikki watches him briefly, then he runs where Shun fell. He hears him shout that everything's okay. Ikki takes hold of the Nebula Chain, then realizes that something not planned is happening. The giant is again standing and with the last of his strengths grabbed him by an ankle. _Fabulous. Hanging on the abyss like a puppet. How embarrassing for a Saint… _When the monster lets him go to fall dead Ikki perceives only void around himself. _What a ridiculous end_, he thinks, before Shun's arm breaks his fall. He realizes that they both are dangling on the Chain. His head is spinning. Far from there… in the other Asgard… she's walking out of Hilda's palace… She's worried and scared… He feels it, as if they were the same thing. _Where are you going, Flo? In what trouble are you running into? _She stops for a moment. _Are you well, Ikki?_ He doesn't reply. Consciousnesshas left him.

59

"Where are you going?" June asked her apprehensively. She told her not to worry. There's still a layer of bodies out there. Hilda ordered to let in even the enemy wounded. _Too generous… _The desolation welcoming her just out of Asgard's walls is complete. A hellish panorama. Soon the funeral pyres will be prepared. But she knows that something alive is waiting for her. This is why she didn't take her Cloth off. _Let's just be done with it. If I have to die then I'll face my end with dignity. _There's no denying her fear. But her enemies are still human. She has to face them before their demonic power grows more. She knows that they could still overcome her, but she also knows that she must handle this situation on her own. She can't accept the help offered to her by Athena and her Saints. _It's a matter of redeeming my past, even at the cost of my life. _She hears his voice, distant yet penetrating. He asks her in what trouble is she walking into. Her heart trembles. She knows that he's the one in the worse situation. Even though she finds hard to discern the details. _Are you well, Ikki? _Then their contact breaks. In the shadow, among upturned chariots, shattered tents and human corpses, they are waiting for her. Queen and Valentine. They are still totally unruffled. They've been the minds and the watching crowd of the battle. And the rout doesn't seem to have upset them that much.

"Lookie lookie… You shouldn't have disturbed. We would have come to get you." Queen snickers gratingly.

Valentine looks at her from head to toe. "Radamanthys' bitch… Do you know that Pandora wants your head? The High Wyvern tried to intercede on your behalf, but it proved impossible."

She waits. It came as a surprise. She didn't reckon with Radamanthys defending her case. _Why? Did he really think that Pandora would have shown clemency?_

"The boss was ordered to kill you. But we can spare him the effort."

When Queen attacks Flora dodges her cutting blows with all her nimbleness. Once, twice, three times…

"Be done with this, Queen… You can't keep on toying…" Valentine scolds.

_I should attack. But I'm too tired. I'm almost without energies. I really met with an ugly surprise. _Queen strikes again. Her blow cuts through her. The pain is grievous. She can do nothing but try to dodge again before the _coup de grâce_. But when the demon she's facing falls to the ground, writhing in sudden pain, she's speechless.

"What…?" whines Queen trying to stand up.

_Here comes the cavalry… _Flora thinks, smirking. _It seems that Athena's Saints come to your help even when you don't want it._ She finds her even more unsettling than when she saw her fight the Erinyes. But Flora has seen her face during the long period she spent watching her then-enemies. And she knows what her demonic appearance hides.

"What does she want?" Valentine says.

"Forgive me, I'm late" says Shaina.

Flora knows that she should thank her. But there is no time. The two demons have recovered from the surprise.

"Okay. First, we'll gut your friend, then, Cassiopeia, it will be your turn…"

Flora is ready. It feels strange to be backed by a partner. It makes her stronger. But something comes between her and her opponents. Flora first hears her voice, telling to Valentine and Queen to stop. Then she appears. She knows that it's just a mental image, but she can't avoid to shudder. Her sullen look, her ghostly complexion, her long dark hair…

"Radamanthys will kill Cassiopeia. Not you" the woman says.

Flora can't take her eyes off the apparition. Pandora, the right hand of Hades, the least merciful creature she ever knew. Even Radamanthys bows before her. The power of the Underworld incarnated in a woman. It is said that in Hell her station is above even Queen Persephone's. _I hate you, I always did! I hate being afraid! And I know that you hate me. Because I live in the daylight. And because my influence on Radamanthys is superior to yours…_

The apparition grins, as if it had read her thoughts. "A colossal mistake. This is what you were. I knew, but have been lenient because Radamanthys wanted you. But now I will lead him back to reason."

"Of course…" Flora hisses. Anger is overtaking fear inside her. "This is what you were waiting for. Now he's your faithful slave again. I don't care. Just don't hide behind him. If you want my head come and get it yourself…"

Pandora grins again. "Don't defy my… I know you're scared. Sleep with an eye open from today on. We'll come when you least expect it." The image vanishes like a ghost. So do the demons.

"You really hang out with some weird people" Shaina remarks. "Who were they?"

Flora bites her lip. _A death sentence… I knew. But hearing it from Pandora herself is chilling… _"Old acquaintances. Don't ask more" she replies. _Perhaps I should start wearing crucifixes. The right way. A pentacle around my bed could be of help… and white candles. But I knew very well that it wouldn't do much. Nothing will stop them. Radamanthys is coming for me…_

60

"I have to go now."

The girl hasn't moved since he asked her to stay with him. The battle is turning to the better. But Loki seems to have underrated the last Saint of Athena, that pesky Pegasus Seiya. He lost Urd and Rhung but their opponents didn't finish to fight them unscathed. As for Midgard, he fought well, destroying Dragon without a hint of remorse. Now it's his turn to end the clash Loki's fighting. The girl is impassive.

"I suppose that asking a kiss from you as talisman would be too much." She lowers her eyes. "I also suppose that you hope to be standing triumphantly on my lifeless body before dawn."

Freya stands up. _How can so small a creature be so monumentally imposing?_ Dolvar takes her hand and brings it to his lips. "It doesn't matter, Freya. We'll greet the new day together…"

She looks him in the eye without any mercy. "You made your choice. If you'll survive I will have nothing to greet."

Dolvar lets her go. It's a torture. Her silence, her anger. Her scorn. And she's just a girl. But she forgot about the puppet master. "Your Hyoga fought well. He survived, despite being wounded. I'm sure of it. My mind is in contact with each of my warriors. He will be back soon and will partake of our triumph. But this is not enough to make you happy because you know that he had to vanquish one of his brothers. You're impossible to satisfy, Freya. What do you want me to do, then?"

She doesn't reply. Dolvar has the impression of being almost able to touch her thoughts with his hands. She's wishing him death. But she's afraid that it could spell a final condemnation for Athena and Hyoga. And … she feels a shred of pity for him, for his conscience stained forever… The man goes to the door taking his eyes away from her. _War, blood… Here we are… This is what you wanted… _"I love you, stupid kid. Be damned for this."

61

Her mind is clouding. But when she saw Seiya arrive panting at the feet of Odin's statue an absurd hope rekindled inside her. But she knows that it won't be easy. _You always got to the bottom of matters, you never bent, but this time I'm afraid. _Her heroes… She looked helplessly on the senseless battle between Shiryu and Hyoga. Hyoga, always so close to them, who betrayed them all. Shiryu regains slowly his senses in the icy water… And Hyoga… He's coming as well. His lost gaze, the pace of a walking dead. His thoughts are to her indiscernible. Ikki and Shun… They are alive, but their wounds don't allow them to fight anymore. _I can do nothing. Just waiting. _The despair in Seiya's voice as he calls her name fills her with sorrow, almost like seeing him face the man called Loki without being able to give him any support. Fierce like a wolf, unrelenting like the storm, Loki is putting all his strength in the blows he hits on Seiya. _Don't give up, don't surrender, please… Don't abandon me now… _She knows that he can't hear her. But, and it's almost a miracle, he's able to beat the God Warrior.

"It can't be!" cries Loki, as it dawns on him that his end is near. Athena cheers in her heart. Seiya explains to his opponent the potential advantage available to a man who's fighting for Justice… _Yes, but I want to think that it's been also the tie between us that brought you victory… Isn't it so, Seiya? _Even now she gets now answer from her Saint. But when the imposing frame of the High Priest, fully armed, comes to the battlefield, Saori's relief blows away as swiftly as it appeared.

62

He's never been so calm. Part of his mind is telling him that he's going to die. A thought he should perceive as pointless, as the only Saint still standing is that uppity brat wearing the Pegasus Cloth. But the thought of his end is unrelated to his opponent. It's like infernal Hela were laughing gratingly in his ears. Her hungry wolves are ready to devour his body. To send him to an eternity of suffering for the pact struck with the Greek God of death. But Dolvar is not afraid. To the bitter end. This is the path of his choice. He couldn't think of a better tomorrow. The mirage of the sun and the southern lands is far and intangible. He knows that he'll never go past the border of Asgard and finds such a thought extremely relieving. His self was forged in stone and ice. And if he will fall, he will drag anybody who steps on his way along. Because his pride is screaming out. Odin will lose his Voice but Athena will perish with him. Dodging the blows of the kid his easy, too easy. As is hitting him, shattering his treasured Cloth. Flaunting security for a victory that will bring no gain to him is just a game. The boy's prattle about peace, justice and his oh-so-dear Athena upset him like a buzzing fly. Athena. The Goddess is still watching them. For an instant Dolvar even thinks to feel her suffering for her Saint in disarray. He's not sure whether it's an illusion or not. But the decision to make him join his revered Athena gives him ample satisfaction. The Odin Shield enabled Athena to look inside him and also flooded him with the Goddess' purity. Briefly he wonders what he'll see in the Saint's spirit when he'll pass through him to be given to darkness. For the time present Dolvar sees only his pain-stricken face, his desperate defence. _Fear not, boy. It will be over soon… _When the bronze chains break his spell Dolvar doesn't contain his fury. A wave of the hand is enough to send away the meddling Andromeda Saint. But the brief respite is enough for young Pegasus to draw breath. Dolvar decides to end it quickly. It's not important how many of the youngsters survived. He'll take them, one by one.

"Seiya…"

Dolvar turns around recognizing the voice of the new player on scene. Hyoga, wounded and without Robe. _Good, Holy Athena, wait and see. _"Kill Seiya, Hyoga" he says, without even bothering to sound authoritarian. It will be his last gift to the Greek girl. His last act of defiance. He invites her to look attentively as suddenly he finds his mirth again. It takes him a moment to notice that his own Midgard's clenched fists are pointed at him. The surprise is great indeed. A contemptuous smile is playing on Cygnus' lips as he reaffirms his fealty to the caste of Athena's protectors. _He's free. My influence on him is no more, _he thinks, deflecting his quick attack. The boy slides towards him and grabs his ankles. A moment later Dolvar realizes that he's unable to move. His legs are immobilized by ice. Hyoga's fist strikes his chin. Dolvar feels his rage, and could give a name to it. Raging eyes, murderous expression. Everything is crystal-clear. Freya. Dolvar brings a hand to the boy's face. The energy Odin gave him flows against Cygnus like a maelstrom. _I know what is driving you… _he whispers into the thoughts of one who until recently would have given his life for him. The young man grimaces. _I know that you can hear me. At least I won that round. She's mine, Hyoga… She's my wife through and through. So soft and smooth, so young and warm… Do you know what I'm talking about, Hyoga? Anything you plan to do will not erase the fact that Freya has been mine… Are you suffering, boy? I'll rip the skin off your flesh and toast with you blood… _The boy falls to the ground again, eyes widened, on the brink of death. _I'll leave you last. _His attention returns to Pegasus Saint. His good humour is returning. As he throws his attack at him another defender of Athena shields him with his body. The intruder is blown away and Dolvar realizes that he doesn't even know his identity. Pegasus called him Ikki or something like that. It doesn't matter. Getting rid of the little brat is becoming a point of honour. _Cruel to the last… It's a matter of consistency, my dear Freya…_ He grabs Pegasus' head with one hand and raises him in Athena's direction like a grotesque war trophy. _Die, kid. I'll smash your brain to a pulp. _The light explodes suddenly. Dolvar lets his quarry down. The boy's body has become incandescent. The square is now lit by a strange glow and as Dolvar discovers its source his breathing stops. The golden centaur stretching the bow is closing in like a comet in the sky. _One of the twelve Gold Cloths…_Finally Dolvar realizes the predicament he's in, seeing the golden armour cover his foe's body, giving him new strength and making his blows lethal and unavoidable. Dolvar is on the defensive. He understands that he's not in the class of the boy anymore, but seeing him aim his arrow at him realizes that he's still got the best aces in his hole.

"Go on, kill me. But what about Athena? Do you want her to stay like that forever?"

He notices tension on Pegasus' features. _It's a stalemate, right? I promised it. Athena will come with me in the shadow lands. I hear death howling my name, but I'm not afraid of it_. _Why should I? _The boy lowers the bow and Dolvar explodes in a hearty laughter. _What an epic day… Perhaps I'll live to see tomorrow, after all… _

"Hit him, Seiya!"

Dolvar's eyes rise to the statue of Odin. _Frey… _His brother is climbing up the towering monument. The task is made harder by his wounds and by the fact that he's carrying a long sword in his right hand.

_No! _is everything he can think. This betrayal hurts him atrociously. No more adoration into the young man's eyes. Just rage and resolve. _He knows how to set Athena free… he will not stop before anything…_ Dolvar feels his Cosmo. It's growing. Soon it will be unique and unstoppable. Godly. He's got only a few minutes left. _I'm sorry, Frey… _He listens to his ranting. He's talking about Asgard, about the defiled faith, about Odin and Athena's rebirth. And Dolvar knows that he must strike him now, before it's too late.

63

Dolvar's power hits him squarely, but he doesn't relinquish his hold. He's now reached the helm. He distinguishes the top of the God's head. Spikes of gleaming crystal. If legends state the truth it's where the seeds are hidden. _Peace. This is all I want. And a new blossoming for this place. _His sister is nearby. He feels her thoughts, similar to fresh, clear water. He looks down toward the square and sees her, tiny and gorgeous, in the shadows of a portico. _She came to kill Dolvar… No, Freya, don't stain your hands…_

_Brother…_

Her voice increases his resolve. He knows that he must do it also for her, to give her a future. He feels her suffering. All her being is screaming at him not to leave her alone. _I love you, little sister… Why doesn't the boy release his arrow?_ Dolvar's second blow is more powerful. Frey loses hold but doesn't let the sword fall. He never used it before. He inherited it from his father, the father he never knew. When his body crashes against the crystal helm of the statue pain forbids him even to scream. _I'm going to die…_ thinks Frey, his flesh horribly torn. _Odin, give me the strength to rise again, one last time. _The hilt of the sword is viscid from the blood covering his body, but he holds it tightly. With all his forces he cries to Seiya, telling him to trust in what he's doing. He knows where to strike. He lifts the sword high with both hands. _I hate swords…_ A sword like the one his brother is about to hurl at him. _But I don't repent trusting in you…_ The blade shatters the crystal surface. _May it all break into pieces…_ In those last moments his perceptions increase. He becomes one with the young warrior, who lets loose his arrow against Dolvar.

_For Athena, for Athena, for Athena… _

He becomes one with his sister.

_I'm not crying, Frey, do you see? I'll be strong… For you…_

His mind melts with the stabbed Dolvar's.

_I never… saw… Freya's smile…_

Then Athena… As the statue collapses and the drakkar disappears Frey hears her _thank you_ fill his soul. Then it doesn't matter anymore that his life is over. _We shall meet again, in another life…_

Frey the God will guide him to Valhalla. In his last moment he wishes that his brother Dolvar would be willing to take the trip with him.

64

The rock in her muscles melts. Blood flow returns. Her mind and Cosmo are free again. But torpor has not left her body yet. Her eyelids close after hours of immobility. She knows that freedom has a price. And that she's falling into nothingness. _I must react, or I'll die… _But full control over her own body is still a long way. She wonders when will she feel the impact against the ground and if it will be enough to kill her. Then she feels his arms catch her. She doesn't need to see to know that he's taking her to safety, or to understand that he saved her from slamming on the ground with his body. Feeling the hard soil under her back Saori knows that she's not in danger anymore. Her eyes open slowly. And, bent over her, his smile. _My love… _

"Thank you, Seiya" she whispers. _The world can stop now. Now that you're looking at me this way._

She realizes that the battle is over. And that he won again. Then a blinding light dazzles her eyes. A light that makes the remains of Asgard as clear as the day.

65

Only now Freya finds the strength to go outside. Now that the brightest of suns seems to have reached this accursed town. She witnessed the battle from the windows of Dolvar's room. She feared for Athena's fate. And sighed with relief seeing Hyoga rise again. But now her eyes see only the Tree. _So the legend is true. It seems to touch the sky… Its branches are the sky itself, clear as a day, beaming like the starry night… _It was born from the ruins of Odin's statue. And maybe Lord Frey's blood is its lymph. By its roots the earth has given flowers. In a few moments the gloomy square changed completely. _Miracles happen_, she thinks watching the people standing at the feet of Yggdrassill. Goddess Freya. Goddess Athena. And the Saints. Enraptured by a sight that was never meant for the human eye. _How I wish Hilda was here… _The first one to notice her is the Goddess of Love.

"Your Highness…" she says. Her eyes are sad. In a few moments she's become lonely. She lost her entire family. Freya approaches her. She would like to tell her something to make her feel better. Yggdrassill… the Universal Tree will watch over her. Freya takes off her wedding ring. _Now I'm free…_She gives it to the Goddess. She wants to get rid of it, and at the same time she knows that it's dear to her. The Goddess holds it in her fist.

"Thank you" she says, kissing her on the forehead. Freya feels a warm energy penetrate her body. And realizes that a spark of power passed from the Goddess to her._ Now you're part of me… You will not pray me in vain… _Freya nods. She knows that no one else heard. _And now…_ She wants to run by his side. But she's afraid. _He begged me not to yield. Instead I… _Finally finding the strength to look Hyoga in the face she discovers that he's horribly tired. But the affection she finds in his gaze dispels any fear she harboured. She throws herself into his arms. She wants to stop thinking. She just wants to be lulled by his warmth.

"I'm sorry… It's all my fault, Freya…"

_Your fault? No… _"Hold me tight. Just hold me." She doesn't care for the presence of other people. She doesn't care that she's showing her feelings. Now she's free. Free.

"Freya…"

Dolvar's voice makes her heart beat faster. He's there, under the Tree, dying. _You finally got your due…_ She takes a step in his direction but Hyoga takes her by an arm.

"No" he tells her.

She shakes her head. "Don't worry, Hyoga. I…" _Want to see him die…_

Dolvar turns his head to look at her. The arrow is gone, and so is the sword of Odin, leaving just the gaping wound in his chest. Suddenly he looks so helpless… She wonders where the monster that made a hell of her life in little more than two days has gone.

"Freya…" His voice is also weak. _I wanted to spit on your dead body. Nothing more. _She doesn't know the reason for her present commotion. Perhaps she realizes how all things are frail. Even hatred. When Dolvar lifts a hand to her Freya realizes that he's afraid. That he's going and is terrorized at the thought of being alone. Marvelling at herself she kneels by his side and takes his hand.

"So… I'll find out… if there's a place in Valhalla…"

She finds nothing to tell him. She just wishes it could end soon…

"My sister…"

"She's here…" she tells him. _Please, you can go now…_

Dolvar finds a smile in himself. "You are too… good… Freya…"

_I know. But nobody should pass away without some comfort. Not even you._

The man's eyes open wide. Freya believes to discern sudden joy over his features. "Frey…" he whispers. Then the remaining warmth in his body is gone.


	6. Epilogue

EPILOGUE

1

That faraway light is more shining than an aurora borealis. She would like to ask Athena to tell her once again the story of Yggdrassill's birth but is afraid of sounding repetitive. She still can't believe that the miracle happened. Balmung and the Tree have been evoked in a single night. And even at such a distance the light of the star-covered branches fills her eyes. She knows that now Asgard-Parva has a new ruler. Freya brought her a letter from her in which the new regent expressed condolences for the victims caused by the onslaught of the troops of her brother Dolvar and offered her perpetual friendship. "We are all children of the same Gods" is the last phrase before her signature. Of course Hilda accepted. Although in her heart she would gladly slaughter every single one dweller of that filthy mountain village. For what Freya suffered. And it doesn't matter that the real culprit is now dead. But of course she knows that she must accept the peace. This is a queen's duty. And it's what Freya wants. So she said. She's been very clear. No more rivalry with Asgard-Parva. Then she fell into silence. Hilda wishes she would open up with her. But she knows that she couldn't force her to do it. All she can do is wait for Freya to feel better. Soon she will say goodbye to Athena and her Saints. But Hyoga asked permission to stay for a few days. Hilda is grateful to him. She's sure that his presence will be helpful to Freya. Later she will go to her sister again, to try to persuade her of leaving her room. But for the moment she has to see King Alexer and Princess Natassia, who are returning home. _New alliances in the making… Old alliances strengthening…I'm tired…so tired... _Without even checking her own image in the mirror the Queen leaves her rooms.

2

She took him by the shoulders while he was enjoying the fireplace on a leather couch. They barely had time to be alone.

"Hey…" He takes her hand and smiles.

"I'm really angry" she tells him. "While you were playing the hero in Asgard-Parva I couldn't defeat a single opponent…" She spoke jokingly, but he knows that it's true. She dislikes being on the sidelines. "You are tired, aren't you?"

"Nothing that a bit of fondling and a nice massage couldn't patch up." He's losing the thread of his thoughts. The warmth and the comfort of the Asgard palace do him good. Tomorrow they will be back home. Saori decided to leave as soon as possible. Saori decided. She gives the orders. And she ordered Shaina to go back to Athens. These are the last hours they'll be able to spend together. _Then I'll be the one to go to the Sanctuary…_ He feels determined and silly at the same time. Saori does nothing purposelessly. She asked Shaina to organize the guards to defend the holy ground from within. Of course she didn't object. She will leave before nightfall. Seiya is unable to be so quiet. Saori is hiding something. And Ikki's strange speech… He just left his room. Soon he will vanish once again, without apparent reasons. Only there is a reason, or at least so he told him some minutes before. Like a father delivering a few hints about girls to his twelve years old son. "Can't you see, Seiya? Everyone of us should spend some time away from Athena. Her presence is intoxicating. You can't be away from her Cosmo anymore. You're not an individual, you're just one of her serving Saints. And you are more exposed to this than any of us. Because she loves you. Accept a suggestion from a friend, Seiya. Get away from her before becoming unable to see yourself as separate from her." He just stood there gazing at him, too surprised of hearing him put together so many words to weigh them. His speech seemed insensate to him. He was going to reply the first thing passing through his mind when he saw him pale after glimpsing something in the courtyard from the window. He growled something about Hyoga's slickness and run away without even saying goodbye. Leaving him there to ponder his obscure inferences. Then she came in and her presence made him feel better. But he's still thinking it over. _Intoxicating. This is why when we fight for her we put everything else away… But I know well who I am. Saori is Saori. And even if I would die for her it doesn't mean that she owns my soul… or not?_

_3_

He's not surprised of finding her standing. She's walking around the room holding a hand over her wounded side. Her face bears a grimace of pain but she's too stubborn to give in.

"You should stay in bed" he tells her, and she glances at him with the usual hostility.

Ikki isn't about to let himself be impressed again. Her bitching is an absolute sham. She finally surrenders and sinks into a chair.

"Knocking… This is really an unknown concept…"

She's suffering. Ikki sees it from her expression. Hers is a nasty wound, they told him. She was attacked by two warriors not of the Asgard army, at least according to Shaina. He can give a name to her enemy.

"Shall we talk?" he asks, trying to sound gentle.

"About what?" Flora asks, all taken up by her own suffering.

_Hard-headed… _"What, do you enjoy pain?"

She looks up. "No. And Saori's little thaumaturgical hands patched up the worst damage. But I don't like crying upon myself, either."

This is all. Perhaps she doesn't suspect that while she's there writhing her new flame is flirting with Natassia of Blue Grado, after playing out a convincing love scene with Princess Freya…

"Idiot" Flora declares. Too late he realizes that he let her inside his head once again. "Hyoga is not my new flame. Not that it concerns you."

_Right. Had I stayed with you maybe I would have the right to say something…_

"Don't anguish yourself. It was fun. But I don't think there will be a second time."

_Funny… _Ikki sigils his mind against any external interference. _Funny. She dragged me into hell, I'm not myself anymore since that day and she calls it funny…_

"You're not nice, you know?" he says her. Not that he'd been expecting something better. He's the guilty one. And Flora is very proud.

"So spoke Woody Allen."

Ikki sighs. He's not there to start a new quarrel with her. "What about Hades?" After hearing this name a strange sensation of anxiety beset him. As if the fate of every single one of them had been determined centuries in advance.

"Why don't you ask Saori?" Flora's voice trembles. Ikki realizes that she's absolutely terrorized. And that she would rather die instead of saying that name aloud.

"Because Saori wouldn't answer. And I must know the real nature of the menace upon us all."

She remains silent, as if made dumb by a spell. _Why is she so afraid? We already fought Gods… Does she think us so weak?_ "Flora…"

"I don't think this is going to be your war. If I know Athena, she will not allow you to put your lives at risk this time…"

Ikki is elated. _"If I know Athena…" _"You know nothing about Athena. You barely know each other. When did you become so presumptuous?"

She falls silent again and Ikki realizes that he will not get anything else from her. But he holds no doubts that Flora knows what she's talking about. And that the tie between her and Saori Kido is stronger than it could appear. Only he doesn't know why. "An order of Saori will surely not be enough to make me stop fighting" he says. _Hades… _The name of the God of Death still echoes inside him. _I feel like a child afraid of the bogeyman… A child…_A memory flashes in his mind. He's unable to grasp it. _Damn… What was that?_ He says nothing more. He doesn't even tell her goodbye. It's time to go his own way again.

4

He would like to tell her something funny, but his mind is empty. A way to make her smile… He stands on the doorstep although she gave him permission to enter. It's as if her angelic features had hardened… She's got an ugly welt on her cheek and Hyoga believes to know how she had it.

"Come in and close the door, Hyoga."

He complies. He tries to free his mind from a malignant image. She giving in to Dolvar to save his stupid life. He knows that he owes her immensely. But it's not just this what makes him feel bad. _I love you. Now I know. But I can't tell you. Because I just stood there as he was marrying you before the Gods. How could I ask you to forgive me now? Now that I want just to hold you tight and promise you that I'll never let anyone hurt you anymore…How could I expect you to trust me?_

She gestures him to sit down and offers him something to drink. "Is it true that you're going to stay for a few days?"

He nods and takes a sip of mead. It's too sweet but he can't refuse it.

"Could you at least avoid watching me as if I was sick?"

He can do nothing but lower his eyes. _Don't ask me too much, Freya…_

She sighs and kneels at his feet taking one of his hands. For an instant human warmth returns to play on her delicate features. The same warmth that prompted her to comfort her tormentor in his last throes. "Do you also want me to talk about it? Do you also think that I'll feel better then?"

Hyoga caresses her face. "I just wish I had the power to go back to change things…"

Freya shakes her head. "You know what? I still feel his hands on me. I didn't try to fight back. I couldn't. And this made it all the more horrible. My head… was someplace else but… he forced me to keep my eyes open, to look him in the eye… all the time…"

Now he wants to silence her. Because his mind is racing around the images she's calling forth. And it's too much. Shivers, nausea, pain. And a powerful rage. _Wish I could kill him a second time. Wish…_

"I feel soiled, Hyoga. I keep telling myself time and again that I didn't have a choice, but it doesn't help. Is this what you all wanted to hear? At least now I told you. Could you leave me alone now? I feel the subject of target practice… as if those looking at me saw his image superimposed over mine."

_Where are the right words? Why? Why had it to happen you? _"Don't… Freya… No one can defile you… But I know that words mean nothing…"

For some seconds Freya is silent. When she speaks her voice is broken. "Do you mean that you don't despise me?"

_Silly. You're the brightest flower I ever laid eye upon. I wish I could keep you by my side forever… Everything is vanishing around me. When I'm with you I see nothing else. And no one will ever change that. _"I love you, Freya. I never told it before, but now I know that this is real. Now, please, smile at me…"

Instead a tear falls down her face. Her eyes look at him as if beseeching. "Do you know a way, Hyoga? Please… a way to be free of my memories of him… to cut him off…"

His heart races inside his chest as he kisses her to quieten her. He draws her close, cursing himself. _What am I doing? She will hate me… Not now… It's too soon for her… after what happened… What I wanted from the first time I saw you… But now… You're going to hate me because I can't hold myself in check… _

"Don't stop…" whispers Freya. And he says to himself, what the hell.

5

Her body has always followed the rhythm of the northern land. It doesn't take a rising sun to wake her up at the usual hour. But there's that light, Yggdrassill's light flooding her city, blessing it from afar. She slips out of the sheets to watch that glow on the horizon. _Who knows if we're going to see it forever… _Her thought runs to the Goddess with her same name, alone there in Asgard-Parva with her sorrow and the pieces of her life to put together. _There are many degrees of suffering. Mine has been so small in comparison to the Shiny One's…_ It's like she had waken up from a bad dream. _I can pretend that the feast on honour of my sister has just ended… that nothing happened after it… _But she knows that it's impossible. Because every thing that happened in Asgard- Parva has taken root inside her. However, she learn something. A lesson she should have learned the day the seven defenders of Asgard fell in battle. She's not a fairy princess. Her title doesn't place her beyond the surrounding world. In reality violence and death exist, and godmother magicians have retired from business long ago. Not to mention charming princes… Freya returns to the bed and stops to look at him. _What are you dreaming of, Hyoga?_ No, he's not the charming prince. In fairy tales the curtain falls always before. Princes don't have strong wilful hands, nor warm lips. Princes don't moan while they embrace you passionately. Freya caresses his shoulder, but he doesn't wake up. Now she knows that her memories will not leave her, but Hyoga dug a hole and threw them all in. _No, you're not a prince. You're a man. My man._ To let herself go has been easy. Because this time she was happy to look at the face of her lover. Her love. And now she knows that she won in the end. That her wounds will not kill her. _Maybe I don't deserve it, but it doesn't matter. I will not back down until someone comes to complain. Today like that day you're the only one in my mind… Together… _He reaches out to her and grabs her wrist. His eyes open slowly.

"Good-morrow…" he says.

As she feels serenity penetrate inside her, she smiles at him.


End file.
